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NARRATIVE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00017117834 


JAMES    WILLIAMS, 

■    £VVV 

AMERICAN    SLAVE, 

i 


WHO  WAS  FOR  SEVERAL  TEARS  A  DRIVER  OK  A  COTTON 
J 

PLANTATION  IN  ALABAMA 


"  Oh  the  slave,  who  toils  from  the  rising  stra  to  sundown — who 
labors  in  the  cultivation  of  a  crop  whose  fruits  he  may  never  reap — 
who  comes  home  at  nightfall  weary,  iaint,  and  sick  of  heart,  to  find 
in  his  hut  creatures  that  are  to  run  in  the  same  career  with  himself, 
— will  you  not  tell  him  of  a  period  when  his  toil  shall  be  at  an  end? 
Will  you  not  give  him  a  hope  for  his  children  ?  "  -   ' 

Spezch  of  0'  Conndl.    London,  183& 


NEW  YORK: 

PUBLISHED   BY  THE   AMERICAN   ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETY, 
NO.  143  NASSAO  STREET. 

-■      BOSTON: 

ISAAC    KNAPP,    25    CORNHILL. 


■v 


1   Q  O  Q 

-Srvof  NORTH  CABQU^ 
THE  UNNHWTYOFNWH"         W 


r   -  r 


.. .   \.  .     ■  '■  .   .-" 


. 


Stereotyped  at  Geo.  A.  &  J.  Cetrtis's 
Type  &  Stereotype  Foundry. — Boston. 


PREFACE. 

"  American  Slavery,"  said  the  celebrated  John 
Wesley,  "  is  the  vilest  beneath  the  sun !  "  Of  the 
truth  of  this  emphatic  remark  no  other  proof  is 
required  than  an  examination  of  the  statute  books 
of  the  American  slave  states.  Tested  by  its  own 
laws,  in  all  that  facilitates  and  protects  the  hate- 
ful process  of  convening  a  man  into  a  "chattel 
personal;"  in  all  that  stamps  the  law-maker  and 
law-upholder  with  meanness  and  hypocrisy,  it 
certainly  has  no  present  rival  of  its  "  bad  emi- 
nence ;"  and  we  may  search  in  vain  the  history 
of  a  world's  despotism  for  a  parallel.  The  civil 
code  of  Justinian  never  acknowledged,  with  that 
our'democratic  despotisms,  the  essential  equality 
of  man.  The  dreamer  in  the  gardens  of  Epicu- 
rus recognised  neither  in  himself,  nor  in  the  slave 
3\  who  ministered  to  his  luxury,  the  immortality  of - 
Oj  the  spiritual  nature.  Neither  Solon  nor  Lycur- 
5J    gus  tausrht  the  inalienability  of  human  rights. 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  Barons  of  the  Feudal  System,  whose  maxim 
was  emphatically  that  of  Wordsworth's  robber, 

"  That  he  should  take  who  had  the  power, 
And  he  should  keep  who  can," 

while  trampling  on  the  necks  of  jheir  vassals,  and 
counting  the  life  of  a  man  as  of  less  value  than 
that  of  a  wild  beast,  never  appealed  to  God  for 
the  sincerity  of  their  belief  that  all  men  were  cre- 
ated equal.  It  was  reserved  for.  American  slave- 
holders to  present  to  the  world  the  hideous  ano- 
maly of  a  code  of  laws,  beginning  with  the  em- 
phatic declaration  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  all 
men  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness, 
.  and  closing  with  a  deliberate  and  systematic  de- 
nial of  those  rights," in  respect  to  a  large  portion 
of  their  countrymen;  engrossing  on  the  same 
parchment  the  antagonist  laws  of  liberty  and 
tyranny.  The  very'  nature  of  this  unnatural 
combination  has  rendered  it  necessary  that 
American  slavery,  in  law  and  in  practice,  should 
exceed  every  other  in  severity  and  cool  atrocity. 
The  masters  of  Greece  and  Rome  permitted  their 
slaves  to  read  and  write,  and  worship  the  gods 
of  paganism  in  peace  and  security,  for  there  was 
nothing  in  the  laws,  literature,  or  religion  of  the 

I    RBC 


PREFACE.  V 

age  to  awaken  in  the  soul  of  the  bondman  a  just 
sense  of  his  rights  as  a  man.  But  the  American 
slave-holder  cannot  be  thus  lenient.  In  the  ex- 
cess of  his  benevolence,  as  a  political  propagan- 
dist, he  has  kindled  a  fire  for  the  oppressed  of 
the  old  world  to  gaze  at  with  hope,  and  for 
crowned  heads  and  dynasties  to  tremble  at ;  but 
a  due  regard  to  the  safety  of  his  "  peculiar  insti- 
tution" compels  him  to  put  out  the  eyes  of  his 
own  people,  lest  they  too  should  see  it.  Calling 
on  all  the  world  to  shake  off  the  fetters  of  oppres- 
sion, and  wade  through  the  blood  of  tyrants  to 
freedom,  he  has  been  compelled  to  smother  in 
darkness  and  silence  the  minds  of  his  own  bond- 
men,  lest  they  too  should  hear  and  obey  the  sum- 
mons, by  putting  the  knife  to  his  own  throat. 
Proclaiming  the  truths  of  Divine  Revelation,  and 
sending  the  Scriptures  to  the  four  quarters  of  the 
earth,  he  has  found  it .  necessary  to  maintain 
heathenism  at  home  by  special  enactments,  and 
to  make  the  second  offence  of  teaching  his  slaves 
the  message  of  salvation  punishable  with  death  I 
What  marvel  then  that  American  slavery,  even 
on  the  statute  book,  assumes  the  right  to  transform 
1* 


Vi  PREFACE. 

moral  beings  into  brutes ;  * — that  it  legalizes 
man's  usurpation  of  Divine  authority :  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  will  of  the  master  for  the  moral 
government  of  God ; — that  it  annihilates  the 
rights  of  conscience ;  debars  from  the  enjoyment 
of  religious  rights  and  privileges  by  specific  en- 
actments ;  and  enjoins  disobedience  to  the  Divine 
Lawgiver ; — that  it  discourages  purity  and  chasti- 
ty, encourages  crime,  legalizes  concubinage ;  and, 
while  it  places  the  slave  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
his  master,  provides  no  real  protection  for  his  life 
or  his  person. 

But  it  may  be  said,  that  these  laws  afford  no 
certain  evidence  of  the  actual  condition  of  the 
slaves :  that,  in  judging*  the  system  by  its  code, 
no  allowance  is  made  for  the  humanity  of  indi- 
vidual masters.  It  was  a  just  remark  of  the  cele- 
brated Priestley,  that  "  no  people  ever  were  found 
to  be  letter  than  their  laws,  though  many  have 
been  known  to  be  worse."  All  history  and  com- 
mon experience  confirm  this.  Besides,  admitting 
that  the  legal  severity  of  a  system  may  be  soften- 

*  The  cardinal  principle  of  slavery,  that  a  slave  is  not 
to  he  ranked  among  sentient  beings,  but  among  things, 
as  an  article  of  property,  a  chattel  personal,  obtains  as 
undoubted  law,  in  all  the  slave  states.  (Judge  Stroud's 
sketch  of  Slave  Laws,  p.  22.) 


PREFACE.  VU 

ed  in  the  practice  of  the  humane,  may  it  not  also 
be  aggravated  by  that  of  the  avaricious  and  cruel  ? 
But  what  are  the  testimony  and  admissions  of 
slave-holders  themselves  on  this  point?  In  an 
Essay  published  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1S22, 
and  entitled  "  A  Refutation  of  the  Calumnies 
circulated  against  the  Southern  and  Western 
States,"  by  the  late  Edwin  C.  Holland,  Esq.,  it 
is  stated,  that  "all  slave-holders  have  laid  down 
non-resistance,  and  perfect  and  uniform  obedience 
to  their  orders,  as  fundamental  principles  in  the 
government  of  their  slaves ;"  that  this  is  "  a  neces- 
sary result  of  the  relation,"  and  "unavoidable." 
Robert  J.  Turnbull,  Esq.,  of  South  Carolina,  in 
remarking  upon  the  management  of  slaves,  says, 
"  The  only  principle  upon  which  any  authority 
over  them  (the  slaves)  can  be  maintained  is  fear, 
and  he  who  denies  this  has  little  knowledge  of 
them."  To  this  may  be  added  the  testimony  of 
Judge  RufTin,  of  North  Carolina,  as  quoted  in 
Wheeler's  Law  of  Slavery,  p.  247.  "  The  slave, 
to  remain  a  slave,  must  feel  that  there  is  no  ap- 
peal from  his  master.  No  man  can  anticipate  the 
provocations  which  the  slave  would  give,  nor  the 
consequent  wrath  of  the  master,  prompting  him 


VU1  PREFACE. 

to  BLOODY  VENGEANCE  on  the  turbulent 
traitor,  a  vengeance  generally  practised  with  im- 
punity by  reason  of  its  privacy." 

In  an  Essay  on  the  "  improvement  of  negroes 
on  plantations,"  by  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Clay,  a 
slave-holder  of  Bryan  County,  Georgia,  and  print- 
ed at  the  request  of  the  Georgia  Presbytery,  in 
1S33,  we  are  told,  "  that  the  present  economy  of 
the  slave  system  is  to  get  all  you  can  from  the 
slave,  and  give  him  in  return  as  little  as  will  bare- 
ly support  him  in  a  working  condition !  "  Here, 
in  a  few  words,  the  whole  enormity  of  slavery  is 
. exposed  to  view  :  "to  get  all  you  can  from  the 
slave" — by  means  of  whips,  and  stocks  and  irons 
— by  every  device  for  torturing  the  body,  without 
destroying  its  capability  of  labor ;  and  in  return 
give  him  as  little  of  his  coarse  fare  as  will  keep 
him,  like  a  mere  beast  of  burden,  in  a  "working 
condition."  This  is  slavery,  as  explained  by  the 
slave-holder  himself. 

Mr.  Clay  further  says :  "  Offences  against  the 
master  are  more  severely  punished  than  violations 
of  the  law  of  God,  a  fault  which  affects  the 
slave's  personal  character  a  good  deal.  As  exam- 
ples we  may  notice,  that  running  away  is  more 


PREFACE.  IX 

severely  punished  than  adultery."  "He  (the 
slave)  only  knows  his  master  as  lawgiver  and 
executioner,  and  the  sole  object  of  punishment 
held  up  to  his  view,  is  to  make  him  a  more  obe- 
dient and  'profitable  slate.'''' 

Hon.  W.  B.  Seabrook,  in  an  address  before  the 
Agricultural  Society  of  St.  Johns,  Colleton,  pub- 
lished by  order  of  the  Society,  at  Charleston,  in 
1834,  after  stating  that,  "as  Slavery  exists  in 
South  Carolina,  the  action  of  the  citizens  should 
rigidly  conform  to  that  state  of  things,"  and  that 
"  no  abstract  opinions  of  the  rights  of  man  should 
be  allowed  in  any  instance  to  modify  the  police ' 
system  of  a  plantation ,"  proceeds  as  follows  :  "  He 
(the  slave)  should  be  practically  treated  as  a  skcce, 
and  thoroughly  taught  the  true  cardinal  principle 
on  which  our  peculiar  institutions  are  founded, 
viz.,  that  to  his  owner  he  is  bound  by  the  law  of 
God  and  man ;  and  that  no  human  authority  can 
sever  the  link  which  unites  them.  The  great 
aim  of  the  slave-holder,  then,  should  be  to  keep 
his  people  in  strict  subordination.  In  this,  it  may 
in  truth  be  said,  lies  his  entire  duty."  Again,  in 
speaking  of  the  punishments  of  slaves,  he  remarks : 
"  If  to  our  army  the  disuse  of  the  lash  has  been 


X  PREFACE. 

prejudicial,  to  the  slave-holder  it  would  operate  to 
deprive  him.  of  the  main  support  of  his  authority. 
For  the  first-class  of  offences,  I  consider  impri- 
sonment in  the  stocks^  at  night,  with  or  without 
hard  labor  by  day,  as  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  the 
cause  of  good  government."  "  Experience  has 
convinced  me  that  there  is  no  punishment  to 
which  the  slave  looks  with  more  horror,,  than  that 
upon  which,  I  am -now  commenting,  (the  stocks,) 
and  none  which  has  been  attended  with  happier 
results." 

There  is  yet  another  class  of  testimony  quite 
'  as  pertinent  as  the  foregoing,  which  may  at  any 

*  Of  the  nature  of  this  punishment  in  the  stocks, 
something  may  be  learned  by  the  following  extract  of  a 
letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Tallahasse,  Florida,  to  the 
editor  of  the  Ohio  Atlas,  dated  June  9,  1S35 :  "A 
planter,  a  professor  of  religion,  in  conversing  upon  the 
universality  of  whipping,  remarked,  that  a  planter  in 

G ,  who  had  .whipped  a  great  deal,  at  length  got 

tired  of  it,  and  invented  the  following  excellent  method 
of  punishment,  which  I  saw  practised  while  I  was  pay- 
ing him  a  visit.  The  negro  was  placed  in  a  sitting  po- 
sition, with  his. hands  made  fast  above  his  head,  and  his 
feet  in  the  stocks,  so  that  he  could  not  move  any  part 
of  the  body.  The  master  retired,  intending  to  leave 
him  till  morning,  but  we  were  r~ "•-■r.i 2d  in  the  night 
by  the  groans  of  the  negro,  which  v.  ere  so  doleful  that 
we  feared  he  was  dying.  'We  went  to  him,  and  found 
him  covered  with  a  cold  sweat,  and  almost  gone.  "  He 

could  not  have  lived  an  hour  longer.     Mr. found 

the  '  stocks'  such  an  effective  punishment,  that  it  almost 
superseded  the  whipi;'.  ,    . 


PREFACE.  XI 

time  be  gleaned  from  the  newspapers  of  the  slave 
states — the  advertisements  of  masters  for  their 
runaway  slaves,  and  casual  paragraphs,  coldly  re- 
lating cruelties,  which  would  disgTace  a  land  of 
Heathenism.  Let  the  following  suffice  for  a 
specimen : 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Constitutionalist. 

Aiken,  S.  C.,  Dec.  20,  1836. 

I  have  just  returned  from  an  inquest  I  held  over  the 
dead  body  of  a  negro  man,  a  runaway,  that  was  shot 
near  the  South  Edisto,  in  this  District,  (Barnwell,)  on 
Saturday  morning  last.  He  came  to  his  death  by  his 
own  recklessness.  He  refused  to  be  taken  alive  ■  and 
said  that  other  attempts  to  take  him  had  been  made, 
and  he  was  determined  that  he  would  not  be  taken. 
When  taken,  he  was  nearly  naked — had  a  large  dirk  or 
knife,  and  a  heavy  club.  He  was,  at  first,  (when  those 
who  were  in  pursuit  of  him  found  it  absolutely  neces- 
sary,) shot  at  with  small-shot,  with  the.  intention  of 
merely  crippling  him.  He  was  shot  at  several  times, 
and  at  last  he  was  so  disabled  as  to  be  compelled  to 
surrender.  He  kept  in  the  run  of  a  creek  in  a  very 
dense  swamp  all  the  time  that  the  neighbors  were  in 
pursuit  of  him.  As  soon  as  the  negro  was  taken,  the 
best  medical  aid  was  procured,  but  he  died  on  the  same 
evening.  One  of  the  witnesses  at  the  inquisition  stated 
that  the  negro  boy  said  that  he  was  from  Mississippi, 
and  belonged  to  so  many  persons  he  did  not  know  who 
his  master  was :  but  again  he  said  his  masters  name 
was  Brown.  He  said  his  own  name  was  Sam ;  and 
when  asked  by  another  witness  who  his  master  was.  he 
muttered  something  like  Augusta  or  Augustine.  The 
boy  was  apparently  above  35  or  40  years  of  age — about 
sis  feet  high — slightly  yellow  in  the  face — very  long 
beard  or  .whiskers — and  very  stout  built,  and  a  6tern 
countenance ;  and  appeared  to  have  been  run  away  a 
long  time.  "WnxiAii  H.  Pritchard, 

Coroner,  (ex  officio.)  Barnwell  Dist.,  S.  C. 

CT^The  Mississippi  and  other  papers  will  please  copy 
the  above. — Georgia  Constitutionalist. 


XU  PREFACE. 

$100  REWARD.— Ran  away  from  the  subscriber, 
living  on  Herring  Bay,  Anne  Arundel  Co.,  Md.,  on  Sa- 
turday, 28th  January^  negro  man  Elijah,  who  calls  him- 
self Elijah  Cook ;  is  about  21  years  of  age,  well  made, 
of  a  very  dark  complexion,  has  an  impediment  in  his 
speech,  and  a  scar  on  his  left  cheek  bone,  apparently  occa- 
sioned by  a  shot.  J.  Scrivener. 

[Annapolis  (Md.)  Rep.,  Feb.  1837. 

§40  REWARD. — Ran  away  from  my  residence,  near 
Mobile,  two  negro  men,  Isaac  and  Tim.  Isaac  is  from 
25  to  30  years  old,  dark  complexion,  scar  on  the  right 
.side  of  the  head,  and  also  one  on  the  right  side  of  the 
body,  occasioned  by  busk  shot.  Tim  is  22  years  old, 
dark  complexion,  scar  on  the  right  cheek,  as  also  another 
on  the  back  of  the  neck.  Captains  and  owners  of- 
steamboats,  vessels,  and  water  crafts  of  every  descrip- 
tion, are  cautioned  against  taking  them  on  board,  under 
the  penalty  of  the  law,  and  all  other  persons  against 
harboring  or  in  any  manner  favoring  the  escape  of  said 
negroes,  under  like  penalty.  Sarah  Walsh. 

Mobile,  Sept.  1. 

[Montgomery  (Ala.)  Advertiser,  Sept.  29,  1837. 

$200  REWARD.— Ran  away  from  the  subscriber, 
about  three  years  ago,  a  certain  negro  man  named  Ben, 
(commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Ben  Fox.)  He  is 
about  5  feet  5  or  6  inches  high,  chunky  made,  yellow 
complexion,  and  has  but  one  eye.  Also,  one  other  ne- 
gro by  the  name  of  Rigdon,  who  ran  away  on  the  8th 
of  this  month-^  He  is  stout  made,  tall,  and  very  black, 
with  large  lips. 

I  will  give  the  reward  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  * 
of  the  above  negroes,  to  be  delivered  to  me  or  confined 
in  the  jail  of  Lenoir  or  Jones  County,  or  for  the  killing 
of  them  so  that  I  can  see  them.  Masters  of  vessels,  and 
all  others,  are  cautioned  against  harboring,  employing, 
or  carrying  them  away,  under  the  penaltv  of  the  law. 

W.  D.  Cobb. 

Lenoir  Co.,  N.  C,  November  12,  1836. 

BROUGHT  TO  JAIL.  — In  Irwinton,  Wilkinson 
County,  (G-a.)  16th  Nov.  1837,  a  negro  man  by  the 
name  of  Jacob,  who  says  he  belongs  to  Heritan  Middle- 
ton,  in  Henry  County,  Alabama.    He  says  he  was  hired 


PREFACE.  Jin 

to  John  "Webb,  near  West  Point,  in  this  State.  He  is 
about  G  feet  high;  dark  complexion,  and  slow  in  speak- 
ing. There  are  no  marks  discoverable,  only  he  is  very 
badly  shot  in  the  right  side  and  right  hand.  The  owner 
or  owners  are  requested  to  come  forward,  prove  proper- 
ty, pay  charges,  and  take  him  away. 

S.  B.  MttRPSEY,  Jailer. 
Milledgville,  Jan.  2.  1838.  [Georgia  Journal. 

[From  the  Clinton  (Miss.)  Gazette,  July  23,  1336.] 
WAS  COMMITTED  to  the  jail  of  Covington  County, 
on  the  26th  day  of  June,  1836,  by  G.  D.  Gere,  Esq..  a 
nc~ro  man,  who  says  his  name  is  Josiah,  and  says  he 
belongs  to  John  Martin,  an  Irishman,  living  in  the  State 
of  Louisiana, '  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
twenty  miles  below  Natchez.  Josiah  is  5  feet  8  inches 
high,  heavy  built,  copper  color,  his  back  verymudi  scarred 
with  the  whip,  and  branded  on  the  thigh  and  hips  in 
three  or  four  places,  thus,  (I.  M.)  or  (J.  M. ;)  the  M.  is 
very  plain,  but  the  I.  or  J.  is  not  plain  :  the  rim  of  his 
right  ear*  has  been  bit  or  cut  off.  He  is  about  31  years 
of  age,  had  on,  when  committed,  pantaloons  made  of 
bed  ticking,  cotton  coat,  and  an  old  fur  hat  very  much 
worn.  The  owner  of  the  above  described  negro  is  re- 
quested to .  comply  with  the  requisitions  of  the  law  in 
such  cases  made  and  provided. 

-T-  >-"-  J.  L.  Jolley,  Sheriff,  C.  C. 

Williamsburgh,  June  28,  1836. 

WAS  COMMITTED  to  jail,  a  negro  man,  who  says 
that  his  name  is  Harry.  Said  boy  is  about  30  years 
old,  light  complexion  and  bald  head  ;  has  a  scar  on  his 
left  knee ;  also,  one  on  his  forehead,  and  one  on  his 
right  hand ;  he  is  very  much  marked  with  the  whip.  The 
owner,  &c.  B.  W.  Hatch,  Jailer. 

[Port  Gibson  (Mi.,)  Correspondent,  Sept.  16,  1837. 

S50  REWARD. — Ran  away  from  the  subscriber,  a 
negro  fellow  named  Dick,  about  21  or  22  years  of  age, 
dark  mulatto,  has  many  scars  on  his  back  from  being 
whipped.  The  boy  was  purchased  by  me  from  Thomas 
L.  Arnold,  and  absconded  about  the  'time  the  purchase 
was  made.  James  jNoe. 

[Sentinel  and  Expositor,  Vicksburg,  (Mi.,)  Oct.  10, 1837; 
2 


XIV  PREFACE. 

[From  toe  ^ew  Orleans  Bee,  Oct.  28, 1837.]    : 
$10  REWARD.— Ran  away,  on  the  9th  of  October, 
CiRomre,  aged  about  38  years ;  had  a  collar  on  with 
one  prong  turned  down.  .    i  T.  CoG&sy 

Gallatin  St.,  between  Hospital  and  Barracks. 

$25  REWARD.— For  the  black  woman,  Betsey,  who 
left  my  house  in  the  Faubourg,  McDonnough,  about  the 
12th  inst.,  when  she  had  on  her  neck  an  iron  collar ;  has 
a  mark  on  her  neck  and  is  about  20  years  yf  age. 

Charles  Kerntn. 
[New  Orleans  paper,  March,  1837. 

$50  REWARD.— Ran  away  from  Murot's  Plantation, 
near  Baton  Rouge,  about  two  months  ago,  the  negro 
man  Manuel.  Description— black,  5  feet  4  inches  high, 
about  30  years  old,  one  scar  on  the  forehead,  and  much 
marked  with  irons. 

•  _.  p  [New  Orleans  Bee,  May  27,  1837. 

COMMITTED  to  the  jail  of  Pike  County,  a  man 
about  twenty-three  or  four  years  old,  who  calls  his  name 
John.  The  said  negro  has  a  clog  of  iron  on  his  right. 
foot  which  will  weigh  4  or  5  pounds.  The  owner  is  re- 
quested, &c.  B.  W*  Hodges,  Jailer. 

[Montgomery  (Alabama)  Advertiser,- Sept.  29,  1837. 
•-■•  ..■•-':..--  ■  -.no  d  : 
$100  REWARD  .—Ran  away  from  the  subscriber,  six 
weeks  ago,  two  negro  men,  one  a  tall  fellow,  stoops  con- 
siderably in  walking ;  when  spoken  to  fiercely,  looks  as 
if  he  would  sink  into  the  earth-  The  -other  is :  a  short 
stumpy  fellow,  of  a  very  black  or  almost  blue  color, 
large  cheeks,  has  a  scar  over  one  eye;  also,  one  on  his 
leg  from  the  bite  of  a  dog,  and  a  burn  on  his  body  from  a 
piece  of  hot  iron,  in  the  shape  of  a  T  ! 

John  A.  Dillahtoty. 
[New  Orleans  Bee,  Feb.  8,  1837. 

"  A  negro  who  had  absconded  from  his  master, 
and  for  whom  a  reward  was  offered  of  $100,  has 
been  apprehended  and  committed  to  prison  in  Sa- 
vannah, Georgia.      The  editor  who.  states  the 


PREFACE.  XV 

fact,  adds,  with  as  much  coolness  as  though  there 
were  !io  barbarity  in  the  matter,  that  he  did  not 
surrender  until  he  was  considerably  maimed  by 
the  dogs*  that  had  been  set  on  him, — desperately 
fighting  them,  one  of  which  he  cut  badly  with  a 
sword." 
Nm  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  June  8,  1S27. 

From  the  foregoing  evidence  on  the  part  of 
slave-holders  themselves,  we  gather  the  following 
facts: 

"1.  That  perfect  obedience  is  required  of  the 
slave — that  he  is  made  to  feel  that  there  is  no  ap- 
peal from  his  master. 

2.  That  the  authority  of  the  master  is  only 
maintained  by  fear — a  "  reign  of  terror." 

*  In  regard  to  the  use  of  bloodhounds,,  for  the  recap- 
ture of  runaway  slaves,  we  insert  the  following  from 
the  New  York  Evangelist,  being  an  extract  of  a  letter 
from  Natchez,  (Miss.)  under  date  of  January  31,  1S35  : 
"  An  instance  was  related  to  me  in  Clairborne  County, 
in  Mississippi.  A  runaway  was  heard  about  the  house 
in  the  night.  The  hound  was  put  upon  his  track,  and 
in  the  morning  was  found  watching  the  dead  body  of 
the  negro.  The  dogs  are  trained  to  this  service  when 
young.  A  negro  is  directed  to  go  into  the  woods  and 
secure  himself  upon  a  tree.  When  sufficient  time  has 
elapsed  for  doing  this,  the  hound  is  put  upon  his  track. 
The  blacks  are  compelled  to  worry  them  until  they 
make  them  their  implacable  enemies  ;  and  it  is  common 
to  meet  with  dogs  which  will  take  no  notice  of  whites, 
though  entire  strangers,  but  will  suffer  no  blacks  beside 
the  house  servants  to  enter  the  vard." 


X71  PREFACE. 

3.  That  "  the  economy  of  slavery  is  to  get  all 
you  can  .  from  the  slave,  and  give  him  in  return- 
as  little  as  will  barely -support  him  in  a  working 
condition." 

4.  That  runaway  slaves  may  be  shot  down  with 
impunity  by  any  white  person. 

5.  That  masters  offer  rewards  for  " lolling" 
their  slaves,  "  so  that  they  may  see  them !  " 

6.  That  slaves  are  branded  with  hot  irons,  and 
very  much  scarred  with  the  whip. 

:  7.  That  iron  collars,  with  projecting  prongs, 
rendering  it  almost  impossible  for  the  wearer  to 
lie  down,  are  fastened  upon  the  necks  of  women. 
V  8.'  That  the  lash  is  the  main  support  of  the 
slave-holder's  authority ;  but,  that  the  stocks  are 
"  a  powerful  auxiliary"  to  his  government. 

9.  That  runaway  slaves  are  chased  with  dogs 
— men  hunted  like  beasts  of  prey. 

Such  is  American  Slavery  in  practice. 

The  testimony  thus  far  adduced  is  only  that 
of  the  slave-holder  and  wrong-doer  himself :  the 
admission  of  men  who  have  a  direct  interest  in 
keeping  ought  of  sight  the  horrors  of  their  sys- 
tem. It  is,  besides,  no  voluntary  admission. 
Having  "  framed   iniquity  by  law3"  it  is  out  of 


PREFACE.  XV11 

their  power  to  hide  it.  For  the  recovery  of  their 
runaway  property,  they  are  compelled  to  adver- 
tise in  the  public  journals,  and,  that  it  may  be 
identified,  they  are  under  the  necessity  of  describ- 
ing the  marks  of  the  whip  on  the  backs  of  women, 
the  iron  collars  about  the  neck,  the  gun-shot 
wounds,  and  the  traces  of  the  branding-iron. 
Such  testimony  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be 
partial  and  incomplete.  But  for  a  full  revelation 
of  the  secrets  of  the  prison-house,  we  must  look 
to  the  slave  himself.  The  Inquisitors  of  Goa 
and  Madrid  never  disclosed  the  peculiar  atrocities 
of  their  "  hall  of  horrors."  It  was  the  escaping 
heretic,  with  his  swollen  and  disjointed  limbs, 
and  bearing  about  him  the  scars  of  rack  and  fire, 
who  exposed  them  to  the  gaze  and  abhorrence  of 
Christendom. 

The  following  pages  contain  the  simple  and 
unvarnished  story  of  an  American  Slave, — of 
one  whose  situation,  in  the  first  place,  as  a  fa- 
vorite servant  in  an  aristocratic  family  in  Virgi- 
nia, and  afterwards  as  the  sole  and  confidential 
driver  on  a  large  plantation  in  Alabama,  afforded 
him  rare  and  peculiar  advantages  for  accurate 
observation  of  the  practical  workings  of  the  sys- 
2* 


XV111  PREFACE. 

tern.  His  intelligence,  evident  candor,  and  grate- 
ful remembrance  of  those  kindnesses  which  in  a 
land  of  slavery  ^made  his  cup  of  suffering  less 
bitter ;  the  perfect  accordance  of  his  statements 
(made  at  different  times  and  to  different  indivi- 
duals^) one  with  another,  as  well  as  those  state- 
ments themselves,  all  afford  strong  confirmation 
of  the  truth  and  accuracy  of  his  story.  There 
seems  to  have  been  no 'effort,  on  his  part,  to  make 
his  picture  of  slavery  one  of  entire  darkness — he 
details  every  thing  of  a  mitigating  character  which 
fell  under  his  observation ;  and  even  the  cruel  de- 
ception of  his  master  has  not  rendered  him  un- 
mindful of  his  early  kindness. 

The  Editor  is  fully  aware  that  he- has  not  been 
able  to  present  this  affecting  narrative  in  the  sim- 
plicity and  vivid  freshness  with  which  it  fell  from 
the  lips  of  the   narrator.     He  has,  however,  as 

*  The  reader  is  referred  to  John  G-.  Whittier,  of 
Amesburv,  Mass.,  or  to  the  following  gentlemen,  who 
have  heard  the  whole  or  a  part  of  his  story  from  his 
own  lips  :  Emmor  Kimber,  of  Kimberton,  Pa.,  Lid d ley 
Coates,  of  Lancaster  Co.,  do. ;  James  Mott,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Lewis  Tappan,  BtiSur  Wright,  Jun.,  Rev.  Dr. 
Follen,  and  James  G-.  Birney,  of  New  York.'  The  latter 
gentleman,  who  was  a  few  years  ago  a  citizen  of  Ala- 
bama, assures  ns  that  the  statements  made  to  him  by 
James  Williams  were  such  as  he  had  every  reason  to 
believe,  from  his  own  knowledge  of  slavery  in  that 
State. 


PREFACE.  XIX 

closely  as  possible,  copied  his  manner,  and  in 
many  instances  his  precise  language.  The  slave 
has  spoken  foe  himself.  Acting  merely  as  his 
amanuensis,  he  has  carefully  abstained  from  com- 
ments of  his  own.* 

The  picture  here  presented  to  the  people  of 
the  free  states  is,  in  many  respects,  a  novel  one. 
We  all  know  something  of  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky slavery.  We  have  heard  of  the  internal 
slave  trade — the  pangs  of  separation — the  slave 
ship  with  its  "  cargo  of  despair,"  bound  for  the 
New  Orleans  market — and  the  weary  journey  of 
the  chained  Coffle  to  the  cotton  country.  But 
here,  in  a  great  measure,  we  have  lost  sight  of 
the  victims  of  avarice  and  lust.  We  have  not 
studied  the  dreadful  economy  of  the  cotton  plan- 
tation, and  know  but  little  of  the  secrets  of  its 
unlimited  despotism. 

But  in  this  narrative  the  scenes  of  the  planta- 
tion rise  before  us,  with  a  distinctness  which,  ap- 
proaches reality.  We  hear  the  sound  of  the  horn 
at  daybreak,  calling  the  sick  and  the  weary  to 

*  As  the  narrator  -eras  unable  to  read  or  write,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  orthography  of  some  of  the  names 
of  individuals  mentioned  in  this  story  may  not  be  en- 
tirely correct.  For  instance,  the  name  of  his  master 
may  have  been  either  Larrimer  or  Larrimore. 


IX  PREFACE, 

toil  unrequited.  Woman,  in  her  appealing  deli- 
cacy and  suffering,  about  to  become  a  mother,  is 
fainting  under  the  lash,  or  sinking  exhausted  be- 
side her  cotton  row.  We  hear  the  prayer  for 
mercy  answered  with  sneers  and  curses.  We 
look  on  the  instruments  of  torture,  and  the  corpses 
of  murdered  men.  We  see  the  dogs,  reeking 
hot  from  the  chase,  with  their  jaws  foul  with  hu- 
man blood.  We  see  the  meek  and  aged  Christian, 
scarred  with  the  lash,  and  bowed  down  with  toil, 
offering  the  supplication  of  a  broken  heart  to  his 
Father  in  Heaven  for  the  forgiveness  of  his  bru- 
tal enemy.  We  hear,  and  from  our  inmost  hearts 
repeat,  the  affecting  interrogatory  of  the  aged 
slave,  "  How  long,  Oh  Lord  I  how  long  I  " 

The  Editor  has  written  out  the  details  of  this 
painful  narrative  with  feelings  of  sorrow.  If 
there  be  any  who  feel  a  morbid  satisfaction  in 
dwelling  upon  the  history  of  outrage  and  cruelty, 
he  at  least  is  not  one  of  therm  His  taste  and 
habits  incline  him  rather  to  look  to  the  pure  and 
beautiful  in  our  nature — the  sunniest  side  of  hu- 
manity— its  kindly  sympathies— its  holy  affec- 
tions— ks  charities  and  its  love.  But  it  is  be- 
cause he  has  seen  that  all  which  is  thus  beautiful 


PREFACE.  XXI 

and  excellent  in  mind  and  heart  perishes  in  the 
atmosphere  of  slavery ;  it  is  because  humanity 
in  the  slave  sinks  down  to  a  level  with  the  brute, 
and  in  the  master  gives  place  to  the  attributes  of 
a  fiend — that  he  has  not  felt  at  liberty  to  decline 
the  task.  He  cannot  sympathize  with  that  ab- 
stract and  delicate  philanthropy  which  hesitates 
to  bring  itself  in  contact  with  the  sufferer,  and 
which  shrinks  from  the  effort  of  searching  out 
the  extent  of  his  afflictions.  The  emblem  of 
Practical  Philanthropy  is  the  Samaritan  stooping 
over  the  wounded.  Jew.  It  must  be  no  fastidious 
hand  which  administers  the  oil  and  the  wine,  and 
binds  up  the  unsightly  gashes.  ;~ 

Believing,  as  he  does,  that  this  narrative  is  one 
of  truth ;  that  it  presents  an  unexaggerated  pic- 
ture of  slavery  as  it  exists  on  the  cotton  planta- 
tions of  the  South  and  West,  he  would  particu- 
larly invite  to  its  perusal  those  individuals,  and 
especially  those  professing  Christians  at  the  North, 
who  have  ventured  to  claim  for  such  a  system 
the  sanction  and  approval  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ.  In  view  of  the  facts  here  presented,  let 
these  men  seriously  inquire  of  themselves,  whe- 
ther, in  advancing  such  a  claim,  they  are  not  utter- 


XXU  PREFACE. 

ing  a  higher  and  more  audacious  blasphemy  than 
any  which  ever  fell  from  the  pens  of  Voltaire  and 
Paine.  As  if  to  cover  them  with  confusion,  and 
leave  them  utterly  without  excuse  for  thus  libel- 
ling the  character  of  a  just  God,  these  develop- 
ments are  making,  and  the  veil  rising,  which  for 
long  years  of  sinful  apathy  has  rested  upon  the 
abominations  of  American  Slavery.  Light  is 
breaking  into  its  dungeons,  disclosing  the  wreck 
of  buried  intellect — of  hearts  broken — of  human 
afiections  outraged— of  souls  ruined.  The  world 
will  see  it  as  God  has  always  seen  it;  and  when 
He  shall  at  length  make  inquisition  for  blood,  and 
His  vengeance  kindle  over  the  habitations  of  cru- 
elty, with  a  destruction  more  terrible  than  that  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  His  righteous  dealing  will 
be  justified  of  man,  and  His  name  glorified  among 
the  nations,  and  there  will  be  a  voice  of  rejoicing 
in  Earth  and  in  Heaven.  Alleluia  ! — The  pro- 
mise is  fulfilled! — For  the  sighing  of  the 
poor  and  the  oppression  of  the  needy,  God 
hath  risen  ! 

It  is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  Editor  that  this 
narrative  may  be  the  means,  under  God,  of  awa- 
kening in  the  hearts  of  all  who  read  it  a  sympa- 


PREFACE.  XX11I 

thy  for  the  oppressed  which  shall  manifest  itself 
in  immediate,  active,  self-sacrificing  exertions  for 
their  deliverance;  and,  while  it  excites  abhor- 
rence of  his  crimes,  call  forth  pity  for  the  oppres- 
sor. May  it  have  the  effect  to  prevent  the  avow- 
ed and  associated  friends  of  the  slave  from  giving 
such  an  undue  importance  to  their  own  trials  and 
grievances,  as  to  forget  in  a  great  measure  the 
sorrows  of  the  slave.  Let  its  cry  of  wo,  coming 
up  from  the  plantations  of  the  South,  suppress 
every  feeling  of  selfishness  in  our  hearts.  Let 
our  regret  and  indignation  at  the  denial  of  the 
right  of  petition  be  felt  only  because  we  are 
thereby  prevented  from  pleading  in  the  halls  of 
Congress  for  the  "  suffering  and  the  dumb." 
And  let  the  fact,  that  we  are  shut  out  from  half 
the  territory  of  our  country,  be  lamented  only 
because  it  prevents  us  from  bearing  personally  to 
the  land  of  slavery  the  messages  of  hope  for  the 
slave,  and  of  rebuke  and  warning  for  the  oppressor. 
New  York,  2M  1st.  mo.,  1838. 


...  •     -  ;■■■•-■ 

•  .  —  1  i   .  .. 
i  » 

'  '-• 

sis:  •„-./   si**.    -  -   tfii  o  iiwi   iio  aouL*jq    ig   : 


.     ; 

.     .  1 

lifui  .,,...  : 

i;.'     '- 

.  •    V. 

i-.-s-ott  ic&  ,;sj 

..>,.,- 

*! 

- 

■ 

.-..;- 


25 


NARRATIVE. 

I  was  born  in  Powhatan  County,  Virginia,  on 
the  plantaiion  of  George  Larrimore,  sen.,  at  a 
place  called  Mount  Pleasant,  on  the.  16th  of  May, 
1805.  My  father  was  the  slave  of  an  orphan 
family  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  and  was  un- 
der the  care  of  a  Mr.  Brooks,  guardian  of  the 
family.  He  was  a  native  of  Africa,  and  was 
brought  over  when  a  mere  child,  with  his  mother. 
My  mother  was  the  slave  of  George  Larrimore, 
sen.  She  was  nearly  white,  and  is  well  known 
to  have  been  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Larrimore  him- 
self. She  died  when  myself  and  my  twin  bro- 
ther Meshech  were  five  years  of  age.  I  can 
scarcely  remember  her.  She  had  in  all  eight 
children,  of  whom  only  five  are  now  living.  One, 
a  brother,  belongs  to  the  heirs  of  the  late  Mr. 
Brockenbrough,  of  Charlottsville ;  of  whom  he 
hires  his  time,  and  pays  annually  $120  for  it. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  used 
to  preach  occasionally.  His  wife  is  a  free  woman 
3 


•  26    •  NARRATIVE     OF 

from  Philadelphia,  and  being  able  to  read  and 
write,  taught  her  husband.  The  whites  do  not 
know  that  he  can  write,  and  have  often  wondered 
that  he  could  preach  so  well  without  learning. 
It  is  the  practice  when  a  church  is  crowded  to 
turn  the  blacks  out  of  their  seats.  My  brother 
did  not  like  this,  and  on  one  occasion  preached  a 
sermon  from  a  text,  showing  that  all  are  of  one 
blood.  Some  of  the  whites  who  heard  it  said 
that  such  preaching  would  raise,  an  insurrection 
among. the  negroes.  Two  of  them  told  him  that 
if  he  would  prove  his  doctrine  by  Scripture,  they  I 
would  let  him  go,  but  if  he  did  not,  he  should 
have  nine  and  thirty  lashes.  He  accordingly 
preached  another  sermon,  and  spoke  with  a  great 
deal  of  boldness.  The  two  men  who  were  in 
favor  of  having  him  whipped  left  before  the  ser» 
mon  "was  over ;  those  who  remained  acknow- 
ledged that  he  had  proved  his  doctrine,  and 
preached  a  good  sermon,  and  many  of  them  came 
up  and  shook  hands  with  him.  The  two  oppo- 
sers,  Scott  and  Brockley,  forbid  my  brother,  after 
this,  to  come  upon  their  estates.  They  were  both 
Baptists,  and  my  brother  had  before  preached  to  . 
their  people.     During  the  cholera  at  Richmond, 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  27 

my  brother  preached  a  sermon,  in  which  he  com- 
pared the  pestilence  to  the  plagues  which  afflict- 
the  Egyptian  slave-holders,  because  they  would 
not  let  the  people  go.  After  the  sermon  some  of 
the  whites  threatened  to  whip  him.  Mr.  Valen- 
tine, a  merchant  on  Shocko  Hill,  prevented  them  ,* 
and  a  young  lawyer,  named  Brooks  said  it  was 
wrong  to  threaten  a  man  for  preaching  the  truth. 
Since  the  insurrection  of  Nat.  Turner  he  has  not 
been  allowed  to  preach  at  all. 

My  twin  brother  was  for  some  time  the  pro- 
perty of  Mr.  John  Griggs,  of  Richmond,  who 
sold  him,  about'three  years  since,  to  an  Alabama 
cotton  planter,  with  whom  he  staid  one  year, 
and  then  ran  away ;  and  in  all  probability  escaped 
into  the  free  states  or  Canada,  as  he  was  seen 
near  the  Maryland  line.  My  other  brother  lives 
in  Fredericksburg,  and  belongs  to  a  M*.  Scott,  a 
merchant,  formerly  of  Richmond.  He  was  sold 
from  Mr.  Larrimore's  plantation  because  his  wife 
was  a  slave  of  Mr.  Scott.  My  only  sister  is  the 
slave  of  John  Smith,  of  King  William.  Her 
husband  was  the  slave  of  Mr.  Smith,  when  the 
latter  lived  in  Powhatan  County,  and  when  he 
removed  to  King  "William  she  was  taken  with 
her  husband. 


28  NARRATIVE    OF 

My  old  master,  George  Larrimore,  married 
Jane  Roane,  the  sister  of  a  gentleman  named 
John  Roane,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
in  Virginia,  who  in  turn  married  a  sister  of  my 
master.  One  of  his  sisters  married  a  Judge 
Scott,  and  another  married  Mr.  Brockenbrough, 
of  Charlottsville.  Mr.  Larrimore  had  three  chil- 
dren ;  George,  Jane,  and  Elizabeth.  The  former 
was  just,  ten  days  older  than  myself;  and  I  was 
his  playmate  and  constant  associate  in  childhood. 
I  used  to  go  with  him  to  his  school,  and  carry  his 
books  for  him  aV  far  as  the  door,  and  meet  him 
there  when  the  school  was  dismissed.  We  were 
very  fond  of  each  other,  and  frequently  slept  to- 
gether. LHe  taught  me  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet, and  I  should  soon  have  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  reading,  had  not  George's  mother  discovered 
her  son  in  the  act  of  teaching  me.  She  took  him 
aside  and  severely  reprimanded  him.  When  I 
asked  him,  not  long  after,  to  tell  me  more  of  what 
he  had  learned  at  school,  he  said  that  his  mother 
had  forbidden  him  to  do  so  any  more,  as  her  fa- 
ther had  a  slave  who  was  instructed  in  reading 
and  writing,  and  on  that  account  proved  very 
troublesome.  He  could  imitate  the  hand-writing 
of  all  the  neighboring  planters,  and  used  to  write 


JAMES   WILLIAMS.  29 

passes  and  certificates  of  freedom  for  the  slaves, 
and  finally  wrote  one  for  himself,  and  went  off  to 
Philadelphia,  from  whence  her  father  received 
from  him  a  saucy  letter,  thanking  him  for  his 
education. 

The  early  years  of  my  life  went  by  pleasantly. 
The  bitterness  of  my  lot  I  had  not  yet  realized. 
Comfortably  clothed  and  fed,  kindly  treated  by 
my  old  master  and  mistress  and  the  young  ladies,' 
and  the  playmate  and  confidant  of  my  young 
master,  I  did  not  dream  of  the  dark  reality  of 
evil  before  me. 

When  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  master 
George  went  to  his  uncle  Brockenbrough's,  at 
Charlottsville,  as  a  student  of  the  University. 
After  his  return  from  college,  he  went  to  Paris 
and  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  spent  three  or 
four  years  in  study  and  travelling.  In  the  mean 
time  I  was  a  waiter  in  the  house,  dining-room 
servant,  &c.  My  old  master  visited  and  received 
visits  from  a  great  number  of  the  principal  fami- 
lies in  Virginia.  Each  summer,  with  his  family, 
he  visited  the  sulphur  springs  and  the  mountains. 
While  George  was  absent,  I  went  with  him  to 
New  Orleans,  in  the  winter  season,  on  account 
of  his  failing  health.  We  spent  three  days  in 
3* 


!  30  NARRATIVE    OF 

Charleston,  at  Mr.  McDuffiVs,  with  whom  my 
master  was  on  intimate  terms.  Mr.  McDuffie 
spent  several  days  on  one  occasion  at  Mt.  Plea- 
sant. He  took,  a  fancy  to  me,  and  offered  my 
master  the  servant  whom  he  brought  with  him, 
and  $500  beside,  for  me.  My  master  considered 
it  almost  an  insult,  and  said,  after  he  was  gone, 
that  Mr.  McDufne  needed  money,  to  say  the 
least,  as  much  as  he  did. 

He  had  a  fine  house  in  Richmond,  and  used  to 
spend  his  winters  there  with  his  family,  taking 
^  me  with  him.  He  was  not  there  much  at  other 
times,  except  when  the  Convention  of  1829,  for 
amending  the  State  Constitution,  was  held  in 
that- city.  )  He  had  a  quarrel  with  Mr.  Neal,  of 
v  Richmond  Co.,  in  consequence  of  some  remarks 
upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  It  came  near  ter- 
minating in  a  duel.  I  recollect  that  during  the 
sitting  of  the  Convention  my  master  asked  me, 
before  several  other  gentlemen,  if  I  wished  to  be 
free  and  go  back  to  my  own  country.  I  looked 
at  him  with  surprise,  and  inquired  what  country. 

u  Africa,  to  be  sure,"  said  he,  laughing. 

I  told  him  that  was  not  my  country — that  I 
was  born  in  Virginia. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  he,  "  but  your  father  was  bom 





JAMES    WILLIAMS.  31 

in  Africa."  He  then  said  that  there  was  a  place 
on  the  African  coast  called  Liberia,,  where  a  great 
many  free  blacks  were  going ;  and  asked  me  to 
tell  him  honestly  whether  I  would  prefer  to  be 
set  free  on  condition  of  going  to  Africa,  or  live 
with  him  and  remain  a  slave.  I  replied  that  I 
had  rather  be  as  I  was. 

I  have  frequently  heard  him  speak  against 
slavery  to  his  visitors.  I  heard  him  say  on  one 
occasion,  when  some  gentlemen  were  arguing  in 
favor  of  sending  the  free  colored  people  to  Africa, 
that  this  was  as  really  the  black  man's  country 
as  the  white's,  and  that  it  would  be  as  humane  to 
knock  the  free  negroes,  at  once,  on  the  head,  as 
to  send  them  to  Liberia.  He  was  a  kind  man  to 
his  slaves.  He  was  proud  of  them,  and  of  the 
reputation  he  enjoyed  of  feeding  and  clothing 
them  well.  They  were,  as  near  as  I  can  judge, 
about  300  in  number.  He  never  to  my  know- 
ledge sold  a  slave,  unless  to  go  with  a  wife  or 
husband,  and  at  the  slave's  own  request.  But  all 
except  the  very  wealthiest  planters  in  his  neigh- 
borhood sold  them  frequently.  John  Smoot,  of 
Powhatan  Co.,  has  sold  a  great  number.  Bacon 
Tait*  used  to  be  one  of  the  principal  purchasers. 

♦Bacon  Tait's  advertisement  of  "new  and  commo- 
dious buildings'3  for  the  keeping  of  negroes,  situated  at 


32  NARRATIVE  'OF 

.  He  had  a  jail  at  Richmond  where  he  kept  them. 
There  were  many  others  who  made  a  business 
of  buying  and  selling-  slaves.  I  saw  on  one  occa- 
sion, while  travelling  with  my  master,  a  gang  of 
nearly  two  hundred  men  fastened  to  a  single 
chain.  The  women  followed  unchained  and  the 
children  in  wagons.  It  was  a  sorrowful  sight. 
Some  were  praying,  some  crying,  and  they  all 
had  a  look  of  extreme  wretchedness.  It  is  an 
awful  thing  to  a  Virginia  slave  to  be  sold  for  the 
Alabama  and  Mississippi  country.  I  have  known 
some  of  them  to  die  of  grief,  and  others  to  com- 
mit suicide,  on  account  of  it.  Sometimes,  when 
slaves  are  to  be  sold,  they  go  to  the  rich  planters 
in  their  vicinity  and  beseech  them  to  purchase 
them.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  those  planters 
to  whom  they  thus  apply,  to  give  orders  for  their 
concealment  somewhere  on  the  plantation,  and, 
after  they  are  advertised  as  runaways,  to  offer  to 
buy  them,  and  run  the  risk  of  finding  them.  In 
this  way  they  get  them  for  a  fourth  part  of  their 
value.  After  the  bargain  is  made,  the  slaves 
come  back  to  their  old  masters,  ask  pardon  for 
running  away,  and  are  turned  over  to  their  new 
owners.    Mr.  Larrimore  employed  his  overseer 

the  corner  of  15th  and  Carey  streets,  appears  in  the 
Richmond  Whig  of  Sept.  1835.— Editor. 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  33 

in  obtaining  six  slaves  in  this  way,  of  Stephen 
Ransdell,  of  Caroline  County.  • 

In  my  seventeenth  year,  I  was  married  to  a 
girl  named  Harriet,  belonging  to  John  Gatewood, 
a  planter,  living  about  four  miles  from  Mt.  Plea- 
sant. She  was  about  a  year  younger  than  my- 
self— was  a  tailoress,  and  used  to  cut  out  clothes 
for  the  hands.  f\ 

We  were  married  by  a  white  clergyman  named 
Jones ;  and  were  allowed  two  or  three  weeks  to 
ourselves,  which  we  spent  in  visiting  and  other 
amusements. 

The  field  hands  are  seldom  married  by  a  cler- 
gyman. They  simply  invite  their  friends  toge- 
ther, and  have  a  wedding  party. 

Our  two  eldest  children  died  in  their  infancy; 
two  are  now  living.  The  youngest  was  only  two 
months  old  when  I  saw  him  for  the  last  time.  -I 
used  to  visit  my  wife  on  Saturday  and  Sunday 
evenings. 

My  young  master  came  back  from  Europe  in 
delicate  health.     He  was  advised  by  his  physi-    * 
cians  to  spend  the  winter  in  New  Orleans,  whither 
he  accordingly  went,  taking  me  with  him.     Here 
he  became  acquainted  with  a  French  lady  of  one 


-34  NARRATIVE     OF 

of  the  first  families  in  the  city.  The  next  winter 
he  also  spent  in  New  Orleans,  and  on  his  third 
visit,  three  years  after  his  return  from  Europe,  he 
was  married  to  the  lady  above  mentioned..  J  In 
May  he  returned  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  found  the 
elder  Larrimore  on  his  sick  bed,  from  which  he 
never  rose  again.  He  died  on  the  14th  of  July. 
There  was  a  great  and  splendid  funeral,  as  his 
relatives  and  friends  were  numerous.  - 
-  His  large  property  was  left  principally  in  the 
hands  of  his  widow  until  her  decease,  after  which 
it  was  to  be  divided  among  the  three  children.  In 
February,  Mrs.  Larrimore  also  died.  The  admi- 
nistrators upon  the  estate  were  John  Green,  Esq., 
and  Benjamin  Temple. 

;  rMy  young  mistresses,  Jane  and  Elizabeth,  were 
very  kind  to  the  servants.  They  seemed  to  feel 
under  obligations  to  afford  them  every  comfort  and 
gratification,  consistent  with  the  dreadful  relation 
of  ownership  which  they  sustained  towards  them. 
Whipping  was  scarcely  known  on  the  estate ;  and, 
whenever  it  did  take  place,  it  was  invariably 
against  the  wishes  of  the  young  ladies. 

But  the  wife  of  master  George  was  of  a  disposi- 
tion entirely  the  reverse.     Feeble,  languid,  and. 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  35 

inert,  sitting  motionless  for  hours  at  her  window, 
or  moving  her  small  fingers  over  the  strings  of 
her  guitar,  to  some  soft  and  languishing  air,  she 
would  have  seemed  to  a  stranger  incapable  of 
rousing  herself  from  that  indolent  repose,  in  which 
mind  as  well  as  body  participated.  But,  the 
slightest  disregard  of  her  commands,  and  some* 
times  even  the  neglect  to  anticipate  her  wishes, 
on  the  part  of  the  servants,  was  sufficient  to  awake 
her.  The  inanimate  and  delicate  beauty  then 
changed  into  a  stormy  virago.  Her  black  eyes 
glowed  and  sparkled  with  a  snaky  fierceness,  her 
full  lips  compressed,  and  her  brows  bent  and  dark- 
ened. Her  very  voice,  soft  and  sweet  when  speak- 
ing to  her  husband,  and  exquisitely  fine  and  me- 
lodious when  accompanying  her  guitar,  was  at 
such  times  shrill,  keen,  and  loud.  She  would 
order  the  servants  of  my  young  mistresses  upon 
her  errands,  and  if  they  pleaded  their  prior  duty  to 
obey  the  calls  of  another  would  demand  that 
they  should  be  forthwith  whipped  for  their  inso- 
lence. If  the  young  ladies  remonstrated  with  her, 
she  met  them  with  a  perfect  torrent  of  invective 
and  abuse.  In  these  paroxysms  of  fury  she  al- 
ways spoke  in  French,  with  a  vehemence  and 
volubility  which  sfcrongly  contrasted  with    the 


. 


36  NARRATIVE    OP 

calmness  and  firmness  of  the  young  ladies.  She 
would  boast  of  what  she  had  done  in  New  Orleans, 
and  of  the  excellent  discipline  of  her  father's  slaves. 
She  said  she  had  gone  down  in  the  night  to  the 
cell  under  her  father's  house,  and  whipped  the 
slaves  confined  there  with  her  own  hands.  I  had 
heard  the  same  thing  from  her  father's  servants  at 
New  Orleans  when  I  was  there  with  my  master. 
She  brought  with  her  from  New  Orleans- a  girl 
named  Frances.  I  have  seen  her  take  h©r  by  the 
ear,  lead  her  up  to  the  side  of  the  room,  and  beat 
her  head  against  it.  At  other  times  she  would 
snatch  ofT  her  slipper  and  strike*the  girl  on  her 
face  and  head  with  it. 

She  seldom  manifested  her  evil  temper  before 
master  George.  When^she  did,  he  was  greatly 
troubled,  and  he  used  to  speak  to  his  sisters  about 
it  Her  manner  towards  him  was  invariably  that 
of  extreme  fondness.  She  was  dark  complexion- 
ed,  but  very  beautiful ;  and  the  smile  of  welcome 
with  which  she  used  to  meet  him  was  peculiarly 
fascinating.  I  did  not  marvel  that  he  loved  her ; 
while  at  the  same  time,  in  common  with  all  the 
house  servants,  I  regarded  her  as  a  being  possessed 
with  an  evil  spirit, — half  woman,  and  half  fiend. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  of  the  estate,  I  heard 


JAjLES    WILLIAMS.  37 

my  master  speak  of  going  out  to  Alabama.  His 
wife  had  1500  acres  of  wild  land  in  Greene  Coun- 
ty, in  that  State,  and  he  had  been  negotiating  for 
500  more.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1 833,  he  com- 
menced making  preparations  for  -removing  to  that 
place  a  sufficient  number  of  hands  to  cultivate  it. 
He  took  great  pains  to  buy  up  the  wives  and  hus- 
bands of  those  of  his  own  slaves  who  had  married 
out  of  the  estate,  in  order,  as  he  said,  that  his  hands 
might  be  contented  in  Alabama,  and  not  need 
chaining  together  while  on  their  journey.  It  is  al- 
ways found  necessary  by  the  regular  slave-traders,. 
in  travelling  with  their  slaves  to  the  far  South,  to 
handcuff  and  chain  their  wretched  victims,  who 
have  been  bought  up  as  the  interest  of  the  trader 
and  the  luxury  or  necessities  of  the  planter  may 
chance  to  require,  without  regard  to  the  ties  sun- 
dered or  the  affections  made  desolate  by  these  in- 
fernal bargains.  About  the  1st  of  September,  after 
the  slaves  destined  for  Alabama  had  taken  a  final 
farewell  of  their  old  home,  and  of  the  friends  they 
were  leaving  behind,  our  party  started  on  their 
long  journey.  There  were  in  all  214  slaves,  men, 
.women,  and  children.  The  men  and  women  tra- 
velled on  foot — the  small  children  in  the  wagons, 
4 


■ 


- 


38  NARRATIVE     OF 

containing"  the  baggage,  &c.  Previous  to  my  de- 
parture, I  visited  my  wife  and  children,  at  Mr. 
Gatewood's.  I  took  leave  of  them  with  the  belief 
that  I  should  return  with  my  master,  as  soon  as  he 
had  seen  his  hands  established  on  his  new  planta- 
tion. I  took  my  children  in  my  arms  and  embraced 
them ;  my  wife,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist church,  implored  the  blessing  of  God  upon  me 
during  my  absence,  and  I  turned  away  to  follow 
my  master. 

Our  journey  was  a  long  and  tedious  one,  espe- 
cially to  those  who  were  compelled  to  walk  the 
whole  distance.  My  master  rode  in  a  sulky;  and 
I,  as  nis  body  servant,  on  horseback.  When  we 
crossed  over  the  Roanoke,  and  were  entering  upon 
North  Carolina,  I  remember  with  what  sorrowful 
countenances  and  language  the  poor  slaves  looked 
back  for  the  last  time  upon  the  land  of  their  nati- 
vity. .  It  was  their  last  farewell  to  Old  Virginia. 
We  passed  through  Georgia,  and,  crossing  the 
Chattahooche,  entered  Alabama.  Our  way  for 
many  days  was  through  a  sandy  tract  of  country, 
covered  with  pine  woods,  with  here  and  there  the 
plantation  of  an  Indian  or  a  half-breed.  After 
crossing  what  is  called  Line  Creek,  we  found  large 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  39 

plantations  along  the  road,  at  intervals  of  four  or 
five  miles.  The  aspect  of  the  whole  country  was 
wild  and  forbidding,  save  to  the  eye  of  a  cotton 
planter.  The  clearings  were  all  new,  and  the 
houses  rudely  constructed  of  logs.  The  cotton 
fields  were  skirted  with  an  enormous  growth  of 
oak,  pine,  and  bass  wood.  Charred  stumps  stood 
thickly  in  the  clearings,  with  here  and  there  a 
large .  tree  girdled  T)y  the  axe  and  left  to  decay. 
We  reached  at  last  the  place  of  our  destination/ 
It  was  a  fine  tract  of  land,  with  a  deep  rich  soil. 
"We  halted  on  a  small  knoll,  where  the  tents  were 
pitched,  and  the  wagons  unladen.  I  spent  the 
night  with  my  master  at  a  neighboring  plantation, 
which  was  under  the  care  of  an  overseer  named 
Flincher. 

The  next  morning  my  master  received  a  visit 
from  a  man  named  Huckstep,  who  had  undertaken 
the  management  of  his  plantation  as  an  overseer. 
He  had  been  an  overseer  on  cotton  plantations 
many  years  in  Georgia  and  North  Carolina-  He 
was  apparently  about  forty  years  of  age,  with, -a' 
^sunburnt  and  sallow  countenance.  His  thick  shock 
of  black  hair  was  marked  in  several  places  .with 
streaks  of  white,  occasioned,  as  he  afterwards  told 


40  NARRATIVE     OF 

me,  by  blows  received  from  slaves  whom  he  was 
chastising-. 

After  remaining  in  the  vicinity  for  about  a  week, 
my  master  took  me  aside  one  morning,  told  me  he 
was  going  to  Selma,  in  Dallas  County,  and  wished 
me  to  be  in  readiness,  on  his  return  the  next  day, 
to  start  for  Virginia.  This  was  to  me  cheering 
news.  I  spent  that  day  and  the  next  among  my 
old  fellow-servants  who  had  lived  with  me  in  Vir- 
ginia, Some  of  them  had  messages  to  send  by 
me  to  their  friends  and  acquaintances.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  second  day  after  my  master's  de- 
parture, I  distributed  among  them  all  the  money 
which  I  had  about  me,  viz.,  fifteen  dollars.  I  no- 
ticed that  the  overseer  Huckstep  laughed  at  this 
and  called  me  a  fool ;  and  that  whenever  I  spoke 
of  going  home  with  my  master,  his  countenance 
indicated  something  between  a  smile  and  a  sneer. 

Night  came  ;  but,  contrary  to  his  promise,  my 
master  did  not  come.     I  still,  however,  expected 
him  the  next  day.     But  another  night  came,  and 
he  had  not  returned.    I  grew  uneasy,  and  inquired   , 
of  Huckstep  where  he  thought  my  master  was.  3fe 

"  On  his  way  to  old  Virginia,"  said  he,  with  a 
malicious  laugh. 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  41 

"  But,"  said  I,  "  master  George  told  me  that  he 
should  come  back  and  take  me  with  him  to  Vir- 
ginia."' ,    i 

"  Well,  boy,"  said  the  overseer,  "  I  '11  now  tell 
ye  what  master  George,  as  you  call  him,  told  me. 
You  are  to  stay  here  and  act  as  driver  of  the  field 
hands.  That  was  the  order.  So  you  may  as 
well  submit  to  it  at  once." 

I  stood  silent  and  horror-struck.  Could  it  be 
that  the  man  whom  I  had  served  faithfully  from 
our  mutual  boyhood,  whose  slightest  wish  had 
been  my  law,  to  serve  whom  I  would  have  laid 
down  my  life,  while  I  had  confidence  in  his  integ- 
rity^— could  it  be  that  he  had  so  cruelly  and 
wickedly  deceived  me  ?  I  looked  at  the  overseer. 
He  stood  laughing  at  me  in  my  agony. 

"Master  George  gave  you  no  such  orders,"  I 
exclaimed,  maddened  by  the  overseer's  look  and 
maimer. 

The  overseer  looked  at  me  with  a  fiendish  grin. 
"  None  of  your  insolence,"  said  he,  with  a  dread- 
ful oath.  "  I  never  saw  a  Virginia  nigger  that  I 
couldn't  manage,  proud  as  they  are.  .Your  master 
has  left  you  in  my  hands,  and  you  must  obey  my 
orders.  If  you  don't,  why,  I  shall  have  to  make 
4* 


42  NARRATIVE    OF 

you  '  ktig  the  widow  there,'  "  pointing  to  a  tree,  to 
which  I  afterwards  found  the  slaves  were  tied, 
when  they  were  whipped.  .' 

That  night  was  one  of  sleepless  agony.  Virgi* 
nia,  the  hills  and  the  streams  of  my  birth-place  ; 
the  kind  and  hospitable  home ;  the  gentle-hearted 
sisters,  sweetening  with  their  sympathy  the  sor- 
rows of  the  slave ;  my  wife,  my  children — all  that 
had  thus  far  made  up  my  happiness,  rose  in  con- 
trast with-  my  present  condition.  Deeply  as  he 
nas  wronged  me,  may  my  master  himself  never 
endure  such  a  might  of  misery ! 

At  daybreak,  Huckstep  told  me  to  dress  myself 
and  attend  to  his  directions.  I  rose,  subdued  and 
wretched,-  and  at  his  orders  handed  the  horn  to  the 
headman  of  the  gang,  who  summoned  the  hands  to 
the  field.  They  were  employed  in  clearing  land 
for  cultivation,  cutting  trees,  and  burning.  I  was 
with  them  through  the  day,  and  at  night  returned 
once  more  to  my  lodgings  to  be  laughed  at  by  the 
overseer.  He  told  me  that  I  should  do  well,  he 
did  not  doubt,  by  and  by,  but  that  a  Virginia  driver 
generally  had  to  be  whipped  a  few  times  himself 
before  he  could  be  learned  to  do  justice  to  the 
slaves  under  his  charge.     They  were  not  equal  to 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  43 

those  raised  in  North  Carolina,  for  keeping  the 
lazy  hell-hounds,  as  he  called  the  slaves,  at  work. 

And  this  was  my  condition  !  a  driver  set  over 
more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  my  kindred 
and  friends,  with  orders  to  apply  the  whip  un- 
sparingly to  every  one,  whether  man  or  woman, 
who  faltered  in  the  task,  or  was  careless  in  the 
execution  of  it,  myself  subject  at  any  moment  to 
feel  the  accursed  lash  upon  my  own  back,  if  feel- 
ings of  humanity  should  perchance  overcome  the 
selfishness  of  misery,  and  induce  me  to  spare  and 
pity. 

I  lived  in  the  same  house  with  Huckstep ;  a 
large  log  house,  roughly  finished,  where  we  were 
waited  upon  by  an  old  woman,  whom  we  used  to 
call  aunt  Polly.  Huckstep  was,  I  soon  found,  in- 
ordinately fond  of  peach  brandy;  and  once  or 
twice  in  the  course  of  a  month  he  had  a  drunken 
debauch,  which  usually  lasted  from  two  to  four 
days.  He  was  then  full  of  talk,  laughed  immo- 
derately at  his  own  nonsense,  and  would  keep  me 
up  until  late  at  night  listening  to  him.  He  was 
at  these  periods  terribly  severe  to  his  hands,  and 
would  order  me  to  use  up  the  cracker  of  my  whip 
efery  day  upon  the  poor  creatures  who  were  toil- 
ing in  the  field  ;  and  in  order  to  satisfy  him,  I  used 


44  -  NARRATIVE     OF 

to  tear  it  off  when  returning  home  at  night.  He 
would  then  praise  ine  for  a  good  fellow,  and  invite 
me  to  drink  with  him.  He  used  to  tell  me  at  such 
times  that  if  I  would  only  drink  as  he  did  I  should 
be  worth  a  thousand  dollars  more  for  it.  He  would 
sit  for  hours  with  his  peach  brandy,  cursing  and 
swearing,  laughing  and  telling  stories  full  of  ob- 
scenity and  blasphemy.  [He  would  sometimes 
start  up,  take  my  whip,  and  rush  out  to  the  slave 
quarters,  flourish  it  about  and  frighten  their  in- 
mates, and  often  cruelly  beat  them.  He  would 
order  the  women  to  pull  up  their  clothes,  in  Ala- 
bama style,  as  he  called  it,  and  then  whip  them 
for  not  complying.  He  would  then  come  back" 
roaring  and  shouting  to  the  house,  and  tell  me 
what  he  had  done ;  if  I  did  not  laugh  with  him, 
he  would  get  angry  and  demand  what  the  matter 
was.  Oh !  how  often  have  I  laughed,  at  such 
times,  when  my  heart  ached  within  me ;  and  how 
often,  when  permitted  to 'retire  to  my  bed,  I  found 
relief  in  tears  f^ 

He  had  no  wife,  but  kept  a  colored  mistress  in 
a  house  situated  on  a  gore  of  land  between  the 
plantation  and  that  of  Mr.  Goldsby 's.  He  brought 
her  with  him  from  North  Carolina,  and  had  thwe 
children  by  her. 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  45 

Sometimes,  in  his  fits  of  intoxication,  he  would 
come  riding  into  the  field,  swinging  his  whip,  and 
crying  out  to  the  hands  to  strip  off  their  shirts  and 
be  ready  to  take  a  whipping ;  and  this  too  when 
they  were  all  busily  at  work.  At  another  time, 
he  would  gather  the  hands  around  him  and  fall  to 
cursing -and  swearing  about  the  neighboring  over- 
seers. They  were,  he  said,  cruel  to  their  hands, 
whipped  them  unmercifully,  and  in  addition  starv- 
ed them.  As  for  himself,  he  was  the  kindest  and 
best  fellow  within  forty  miles ;  and  the  hands  ought 
to  be  thankful  that  they  had  such  a  good  man  for 
their  overseer. 

He  would  frequently  be  very  familiar  with  me, 
and  call  me  his  child;  he  would  tell  me  that  our 
people  were  going  to  get.Texas,  a  fine  cotton  coun- 
try, and  that  he  meant  to  go  out  there  and  have  a 
plantation  of  his  own,  and  I  should  go  with  him 
and  be  his  overseer. 

The  houses  in  the  "  negro  quarters  "  were  con- 
structed of  logs,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet 
square  ^they  had  no  glass,  but  there  were  holes  to 
let  in  the  light  and  air.  The  furniture  ronsisted 
of  a  table,  a  few  stools,  and  dishes  made  of  wood, 
and  an  iron  pot,  and  some  other  cooking  utensils. 
The  houses  were  placed  about  three  or  four  rods 


46  NARRATIVE     OF 

apart,  with  a  piece  of  ground  attached  to  each  of 
them  for  a  garden,  where  the  occupant  could  raise  a 
few  vegetables.  The  "  quarters  "  were  about  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  dwelling  of  the  overseer. 

The  hands  were  occupied  in  clearing  land  and 
burning  brush,  and  in  constructing  their  houses, 
through  the  winter.  In  March  we  commenced 
ploughing,  and  on  the  first  of  April  began  plant- 
ing seed  for  cotton.  The  hoeing  season  commenc- 
ed about  the  last  of  May.  At  the  earliest  dawn 
of  day,  and  frequently  before  that  time,  the  laborers 
were  roused  from  their  sleep  by  the  blowing  of 
the  horn.  It  was  blown  by  the  headman  of  the 
gang,  who  led  the  rest  in  the  work  and  acted  under 
my  direction,  as  my  assistant. 

Previous  to  the  blowing  of  the  horn  the  hands 
generally  rose  and  eat  what  was  called  the  "  morn- 
ing's bit,"  consisting  of  ham  and  bread.  If  ex- 
haustion and  fatigue  prevented  their  rising  before 
the  dreaded  sound  of  the  horn  broke  upon  their 
slumbers,  they  had  no  time  to  snatch  a  mouthful, 
but  were  hurried,  out  at  once. 

It  was  my  busine^  to  give  over  to  each  of  the 
hands  his  or  her  appropriate  implement  of  labor, 
from  the  tool-house,  where  they  were  deposited  at 
night.     After  all  had  been  supplied,  they  were 


-. 


JAMES     WILLIAMS.  47 

taken  to  the  field,  and  set  at  work  as  soon  as  it 
was  sufficiently  light  to  distinguish  the  plants  from 
the  grass  and  weeds.  I  was  employed  in  passing 
from  row  to  row,  in  order  to  see  that  the  work  was 
well  done,  and  to  urge  forward  the  laborers.  At 
12  o'clock  the  horn  was  blown  from  the  overseer's 
house,  calling  the  hands  to  dinner,  each  to  his  own 
cabin.  The  intermission  of  labor  was  one  hour  and 
a  half  to  hoers  and  pickers,  and  two  hours  to  the 
ploughmen.  At  the  expiration  of  this  interval  the 
horn  again  summoned  them  to  their  labor.  They 
were  kept  in  the  field  until  dark,  when  they  were 
f  called  home  to  supper. 

There  was  little  leisure  for  any  of  the  hands  on 
the  plantation.  In  the  evenings,  after  it  was  too 
dark  for  work  in  the  field,  the  men  were  frequently 
employed  in  burning  brush,  and  in  other  labors, 
until  late  at  night.  The  women,  after,  toiling  in 
the  field  by  day,  were  compelled  to  card,  spin,  and 
weave  cotton  for  their  clothing,  in  the  evening. 
Even  on  Sundays  there  was  little  or  no  respite 
from  toil.  Those  who  had  not  been  able  to  work 
out  all  their  task  during  the  week  were  allowed 
by  the  overseer  to  finish  it  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
thus  save  themselves  from  a  whipping  on  Monday 


JL     .    _ 


48  NARRATIVE     OF 

morning.  Those  whose  tasks  were  finished  .fre- 
quently employed  most  of  that  day  in  cultivating 
their  gardens. 

Many  of  the  female  hands  were  delicate  young 
women,  who  in  Virginia  had  never  been  accus- 
.tomed  to  field  labor.  They  suffered  greatly  from 
the  extreme  heat  and  the  severity  of  the  toil.  Oh ! 
how  often  have  I  seen  them  dragging  their  weary 
limbs  from  the  cotton. field  at  nightfall,  faint  and 
exhausted.  The  overseer  used  to  laugh  at  their 
sufferings.  They  were,  he  said,  Virginia  ladies, 
;  and  altogether  too  delicate  for  Alabama  use ;  but 
they  must  be  made  to  do  their  tasks  notwithstand- 
ing. The  recollection  of  these  things  even  now  is 
dreadful.  I  used  to  tell  the  poor  creatures,  when 
compelled  by  the  overseer  to  urge  them  forward 
with  the  whip,  that  I  would  much  rather  take  their 
places  and  endure  the  stripes  than  inflict  them. 

When  but  three  months  old,  the  children  born 
on  the  estate  were  given  up  to  the  care  of  ihe  old 
women  who  were  not  able  to  work  out  of  doors. 
Their  mothers  were  kept  at  work  in  the  field. 

It  was  the  object  of  the  overseer  to  separate  me 
in  feeling  and  interest  as  widely  as  possible  from 
my  suffering  brethren  and  sisters.  I  had  relations 


JAMES  ■  WILLIAMS.  49 

among  the  field  hands,  and  used  to  call  them  my 
cousins.  He  forbid  my  doing  so,  and  told  me  if  I 
acknowledged  relationship  with  any  of  the  hands  I 
should  be  flogged  for  it.  He  used  to  speak  of  them 
as  devils  and  hell-hounds,  and  ridicule  them  in 
every  possible  way ;  and  endeavored  to  make  me 
speak  of  them  and  regard  them  in  the  same  man- 
ner. ?  He  would  tell  long  stories  about  hunting  and 
shooting  "  runaway  niggers,1'  and  detail  with  great 
apparent  satisfaction  the  cruel  and  horrid  punish- 
ments which  he  had  inflicted.  One  thing  he  said 
troubled  him.  He  had  once  whipped  a  slave  so  *S 
severely  that  he  died  in  consequence  of  it,  and  it 
was  soon  after  ascertained  that  he  was  wholly  in- 
nocent of  the  offence  charged  against  him.  That 
slave,  he  said,  had  haunted  him  ever  since. 

Soon  after  we  commenced  weeding  our  cotton, 
some  of  the  hands,  who  were  threatened  with  a 
whipping  for  not  finishing  their  tasks,  ran  away. 
The  overseer  and  myself  went  out  after  them,  tak- 
ing with  us  five  bloodhounds,  which  were  kept  on 
the  estate  for  the  sole  purpose  of  catching  runa- 
ways. There  were  no  other  hounds  in  the  vicinity, 
and  the  overseers  of  the  neighboring  plantations 
used  to  borrow  them  to  hunt  their  runaways.  A 
5 


50  NARRATIVE     OF 

Mr.  Crop,  who  lived  about  ten  miles  distant,  had 
two  packs,  and  made  it  his  sole  business  to  catch 
slaves  with  them.  "We  used  to  set  the  dogs  upon 
the  track  of  the  fugitives,  and  they  would  follow 
them  until,  to  save  themselves  from  being  torn  in 
pieces,  they  would  climb  into  a  tree,  where  the 
dogs  kept  them  until  we  came  up  and  secured 
them. 

These  hounds,  when  young,  are  taught  to  run 
after  the  negro  boys ;  and  being,  always  kept  con- 
fined except  when  let  out  in  pursuit  of  runaways,, 
they  seldom  fail  of  overtaking  the  fugitive,  and 
seem  to  enjoy  the  sport  of  hunting  men  as  much 
as  other  dogs  do  that  of  chasing  a  fox  or  a  deer. 
My  master  gave  the  sum  of  S500  for  his  five  dogs, 
a  slut  and  her  four  puppies. 
-  "While  going  over  our  cotton  picking  for  the  last 
time,  one  of  our  hands,  named  Little  John,  ran 
away.  The  next  evening  the  dogs  were  started 
on  his  track.  "We  followed  them  awhile,  until  we 
knew  by  their  ceasing  to  bark  that  they  had  found 
him.  We  soon  met  the  dogs  returning.  Their 
jaws,  heads,  and  feet,  were  bloody.  The  overseer 
looked  at  them  and  said  "  he  was  afraid  the  dogs 
had  killed  the  nigger."     It  being  dark,  we  could 


JAMES   WILLIAMS.  51 

not  find  him  that  night.  Early  the  next  morning 
we  started  off  with  our  neighbors,  Sturtivant  and 
Flincher ;  and  after  searching  about  for  some  time, 
we  found  the  body  of  Little  John  lying  in  the  midst 
of  a  thicket  of  cane.  It  was  nearly  naked,  and 
dreadfully  mangled  and  gashed  by  the  teeth  of  the 
dogs.  They  had  evidently  dragged  it  some  yards 
through  the  thicket :  blood,  tatters  of  clothes,  and 
even  the  entrails  of  the  unfortunate  man,  were 
clinging  to  the  stubs  of  the  old  and  broken  cane. 
Huckstep  stooped  over  his  saddle,  looked  at  the 
body,  and  muttered  an  oath.  Sturtivant  swore  it 
was  no  more  than  the  fellow  deserved.  We  dug  a 
hole  in  the  cane-brake,  where  he  lay,  buried  him, 
and  returned  home.    - 

The  murdered  young  man  had  a  mother  and  two 
sisters  on  the  plantation,  by  whom  he  was  dearly 
loved.  When  I  told  the  old  woman  of  what  had 
befallen  her  son,  she  only  said  that  it  was  better 
for  poor  John  than  to  live  in  slavery. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  this  year,  a  young  man,  who 
had  already  run  away  several  times,  was  missing 
from  his  task.  It  was  four  days  before  we  found 
him.  The  dogs  drove  him  at  last  up  a  tree,  where 
he  was  caught,  and  brought  home.    He  was  the\ 


I 


52  NARRATIVE   OF 

fastened  down  to  the  ground  by  means  of  forked 
sticks  of  wood  selected  for  the  purpose,  the  longest 
fork  being  driven  into  the  ground  until  the  other 
closed  down  upon  the  neck,  ankles,  and  wrists. 
The  overseer  then  sent  for  two  large  cats  belong- 
ing to  the  house.  These  he  placed  upon  the  na- 
ked shoulders  of  his  victim,  and  dragged  them  sud- 
denly by  their  tails  downward.  At  first  they  did 
not  scratch  deeply.  He  then  ordered  me  to  strike 
them  with  a  small  stick  after  he  had  placed  them 
once  more  upon  the  back  of  the  sufferer.  I  did  so ; 
and  the  enraged  animals  extended  their  claws, 
and  tore  his  back  deeply  and  cruelly  as  they  were 
dragged  along  it.  He  was  then  whipped  and 
placed  in  the  stocks,  where  he  was  kept  three  days. 
On  the  third  morning,  as  I  passed  the  stocks,  I 
stopped  to  look  at  him.  His  head  hung  down 
over  the  chain  which  supported  his  neck.  I  spoke, 
but  he  did  not  answer.  He  was  dead  in  the  stocks ! 
The  overseer  on  seeing  him  seemed  surprised, 
and,  I  thought,  manifested  some  remorse.  Four 
of  the  field  hands  took  him,  out  of  the  stocks  and 
^ried  him  ;  and  every  thing  went  on  as  usual. 

It  is  not  in  my  power  to  give  a  narrative  of  the 
/Hy  occurrences  on  the  plantation.     The  history 


JAMfiS    WILLIAMS.  53 

of  one  day  was  that  of  all.  Tbl -gloomy  mono- 
tony of  our  slavery  was  only  broken  by  the  over- 
seer's periodical-  fits  of  drunkenness,  at  which 
times, neither  life  nor  limb. on  the  estate  were  se- 
cure from  his  caprice  or  violence. 
-tin  the  spring  of  1835,  the  overseer  brought  me 
a.  letter,  from  my  wife,  written  for  her  by  her 
young  mistress,  :Mr.;  Gate  wood's  daughter.  He 
read  it  to  me.  .  It  stated  that  herself  and  children 
were- well — spoke  of  her  sad  and  heavy  disap- 
pointment in  consequence-  of  my  not  returning 
with*  my  master,  and  of  her  having  been  told  by 
him  that' I  should  come  back  the  next  falL  ; 
-  .-Hope  for  a  moment  lightened  my  heart,  and  I 
indulged  the.  idea  of  once  more  returning  to  the 
bosom  of  my  family.  But  I  recollected  that  my 
master  had  already  cruelly  deceived  me,  and 
despair  again  took  hold  on  me. 

Among  our  hands  was  one  whom  we  used  to 
call  Big  Harry.  He  was  a  stout,  athletic  man, 
very  intelligent,  and  an  excellent. workman  ;  but 
he  was  of  a  high  and  proud  spirit,  which  the 
weary  and  crushing  weight  of  a  life  of  slavery 
had  not  been  able  to  subdue.  On  almost  every 
plantation  at  the  South  you  may  find  one  or  more 
individuals  whose  look  and  air  show  that  they 
5* 


54  H4&RATIVE'  OF 

have  preserved  their  self-respect  as  men;— that 
with  them  the  power  of  the  tyrant  ends  with  the 
coercion  of  the  body— that  the  soul  >  is^free,  and 
the  inner  man  retaining  the  original  uprightness 
of  the  image  of.  GooLi  You  may  know, them  by 
the  stem  sobriety  of  thehf  countenances,  and  the 
contempt  with  which  they  regard  the i  jests;  and 
pastimes  of  .their. miserable  and  degraded  compaiTr 
ions,  who,  like  Samson,  make  sport  for  the  keep-; 
ers  of  theirprison-housevi  These;  men  are  always 
feared. as  well;  as  hated  by  their  task-masters; 
Harry  had  never  been  whipped,  and  ;had  always 
said  that  he  would  die  rather  than;  submit  to  it. 
He  made  no  secret  of  his. detestation  of  .the  over- 
seer. While  .most  of  the  slaves  took  off  their 
hats,  with  cohering- submission,: in  his  presence, 
Harry  always  refused  to  do  so.  He  never  spoke 
to  him  except  in  a  brief  answer  to  his  questions. 
(Master  George,  who  knew  and  dreaded  the  indo- 
mitable spirit  of  the  man,  told  the  overseer,  before 
he  left  the  plantation,  to  beware  how  he  attempted 
to  punish  him.  But  the  habits  of  tyranny  in  which 
Huckstep  had  so  long  indulged  had  accustomed 
him  to  abject  submission  on  the  part  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  he.  could  not  endure  this  upright,  and 
unbroken  manliness.    He  used  frequently  to  curse 


james  .wn.T.TAivre.  55 

and  swear  about  him,  and  devise,  plans  for  punish-, 
ing  him  on 'account  of  his  impudence,/ as  he, 
called  it.        ■-•":;:  ->.■;  -.•'    vrrrrrf  "oj  rrohnsite'&Hi 

A  pretext  was  at  last  afforded  him.  ♦  Some  [time ; 
in  August  of  this  year  there  was  a  large  quantity 
of  yellow  unpicked  cotton  lying  in  thegin  house- 
Harry  was  employed  at  night  in  removing  the' 
cotton  seed,  which  had  been  thrown  out  :.by  the 
gin.  The  rest -of  the  male,  hands  were  engaged 
during' the*  day  in  weeding'  the  cotton  for  the  last 
time,  and  in  the  might  in  burning  brush  on  the 
new  land&clearing  for  the  next  year's  cjop.Har- 
ry  was  told  one  evening  to  go  with  the  others  and 
assist  ifiS  burning  thei  .brush.  -He  ^accordingly- 
went;  and  the  next  night  a  double  quantity  of 
seed  had  accumulated  in  the  gin  house;. and, 
although  he  worked  until  nearly  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  he.  could  not  remove  it  all.         ■  -  -. 

The  next  morning  the  overseer  came  into  the 
field,  and  demanded  of  me  why  I  had  not  whipped 
Harry  for  not  removing  all.  the  cotton  seed.  He 
then  called  aloud  to  Harry  to  come  forward  and 
be  whipped.  j  Harry  answered  somewhat  sternly 
that  he  would  neither  be  struck  by  overseer  nor 
driver ;  that  he  had  worked  nearly  all  night,  and 
had  scarcely  fallen  asleep  when  the  horn  blew  to 


56£  NARRATIVE  v  of  - 

snhimbri  him  to'  his itoil  in  the; field.  The  over- 
seer raved  and  threatened,  but -Harry  paid  no  far-: 
ther  attention  to  him.'  He  then  turned  to  me  and, 
asked We  :for  my  pistols,  with  a  pair , of ■■which  he 
had- famished  me.  I  told .  him  they  were  not 
withme;rr  He  growled  an  oath,  threw  himself  on. 
his;horseVand  left  us.  .  In  the. evening  I  found 
him  haif  drunk  and  raving; like  a i madman.  He 
said'he: would  no  longer  bear;  with,  that  nigger's 
insolence,rbut  would  whip  him.  if  it  cost  him  his 
life'.  P  He  at  length  fixed  upon;  a  plan  fortseizing: 
hihvand^tokhme  that  he  would:  go* out  in  the 
morning,  ride  along  by  the  side  of  Harry  and  talk 
pleasantly2  to  him,  and  then,  while :  Harry .  was 
attending  to  him,  I  was  to  steal-  upon  Jhim  and 
knock  him  down,  by  a  blow. .on.: the  head  from 
the  loaded  and  heavy  handle  of  my  whip.  I  was 
compelled- to  promise  to  obeyhis  .directions., 

The  next  morning,  when  we  got  to  the  field,  I 
told  Harry  of  the  overseer's  plan,  and  advised 
him  by  all  means  to  be  on  his  guard  and  watch 
my  motions.  His  eye  glistened  with  gratitude. 
" Thank  you,  James,"  said  he ;  " I'll  take  care 
that  you  don't  touch  me."  :  :  -  <• 

•  Huckstep  came  into  the  field  about  ten  o'clock. 
He  rode  along  by  the  side  of  Harry,, talking  and 


— -«--- ..  ^__..^. 


i 


JAMES   WILLIAMS.  57 

laughing.  I  was  walking  on  the  other  side. 
When  I  saw  that  Harry's  eye  was  upon  me,  I 
aimed  a  blow  at  him,  intending,  however,  to  miss 
him.  He  evaded  the  blow  and  turned  fiercely 
round  with  his  hoe  uplifted,  threatening  to  cut 
down  any  one  who  again  attempted  to  strike  him. 
Huckstep  cursed  my  awkwardness,  and  told  Harry 
to  put  down  his  hoe  and  come  to  him.  He  re- 
fused to  do  so,  and  swore  he  would  kill  the  first 
man  who  tried  to  lay  hands  on  him.  The  cow- 
ardly tyrant  shrunk  away  from  his  enraged  bond- 
man, and  for  two  weeks  Harry  was  not  again 
molested. 

About  the  first  of  September  the  overseer  had 
one  of  his  drunken  fits.  He  made  the  house  lite- 
rally an  earthly  hell.  He  urged  me  to  drink, 
quarrelled  and  swore  at  me  for  declining,  and 
chased  the  old  woman  round  the  house  with  his 
bottle,  of  peach  brandy.  He  then  told  me  that 
Harry  had  forgotten  the  attempt-to  seize  him,  and 
that  in  the  morning  we  must  try  our  old  game 
over  again. 

On  the  following  morning,  as  I  was  handing  to 
each  of  the  hands  their  hoes  from  the  tool-house, 
I  caught  Harry's  eye.  "  Look  out,"  said  I  to  him ; 
"  Huckstep  will  be  after  you  again  to-day."    He 


58  NARRATIVE    OF 

uttered  a  deep  curse,  against  the  overseer  and 
•  passed  on  to  his  work.  After  breakfast  Huckstep 
came  riding  out  to  the  cotton  field.  He  tied  his 
horse  to  a  tree  and  came  towards  us.  His  sallow 
and  haggard  countenance  was  flushed,  and  his 
step  unsteady.  He  came  up  by  the  side  of  Harry 
and  began  talking  about  the  crops  and  the  wea- 
ther. I  came  at  the  same  time  on  the  other  side, 
and  in  striking  at  him  beat  off  his  hat.  He  sprang 
aside  and  stepped  backwards.  Huckstep,  with  a 
dreadful  oath,  commanded  him  to  stop,  saying 
that  he  had  determined  to  whip  him,  and  neither 
earth  nor  hell  should  prevent  him.  Harry  defied 
him,  and  said  he  had  always  done  the  work  allot- 
ted to  him,  and  that  was  enough ;  he  would 
sooner  die  than  have  the  accursed  lash  touch  him. 
The  overseer  staggered  to  his  horse,  mounted  him 
and  rode  furiously  to  the  house,  and  soon  made  his 
appearance,  returning,  with  his  gun  in  his  hand. 

"  Yonder  cocoas  the  devil ! "  said  one  of  the 
women  whose  row  was  near  Harry's. 

"Yes,"  said  another,  "he's  trying  to  scare 
Harry  with  his  gun." 

"  Let  him  try  as  he  pleases,"  said  Harry,  in  his 
low,  deep,  determined  tones.  "  He  may  shoot  me, 
but  he  can't  whip  me.". 


JAMES  WILLIAMS.  59 

Huckstep  came  swearing  on.  When  within  a 
few  yards  of  Harry  he  stopped,  looked  at  him 
with  a  stare  of  mingled  rage  and  drunken  imbe- 
cility, and  bid  him  throw  down  his  hoe  and  come 
forward.  The  undaunted  slave  refused  to  com- 
ply, and,  continuing  his  work,  told  the  drunken 
demon  to  shoot  if  he  pleased.  Huckstep  advanced 
within  a  few  steps  of  him,  when  Harry  raised  his 
hoe  and  told  him  to  stand  back.  He  stepped  baek 
a  few  paces,  levelled  his  gun,  and  fired.  Harry 
received  the  charge  in  his  breast,  and  fell  instantly 
across  a  cotton  row.  He  threw  up  his  hands 
wildly  and  groaned,  "Oh,  Lord  ! ".     ,-' 

The  hands  instantly  dropped  their  hoes.  .  The 
women  shrieked  aloud.  For  my  own  part,  I 
stood  silent  with  horror.  -The cries  of  the  women 
enraged  the  overseer; '  He  dropped  his  gun,  and 
snatching  the  whip  from  my  hand,  with  horrid 
oaths  and  imprecations,  fell  to  whipping  them, 
laying  about  him  like  a  maniac.  Upon  Harry's 
sister  he  bestowed  his  blows  without  mercy,  com- 
manding her  to  quit  her  screaming  and  go  to 
work.  The  poor  girl,  whose  brother  had  thus 
been  murdered  before  her  eyes,  could  not  wrestle 
down  the  awful  agony  of  her  feelings,  and  the 


^-_ 


60  NARRATIVE   OF 

brutal  tormentor  left  her  without  effecting  his  ob- 
ject He  then,  without  going  to  look  of  his  vic- 
tim, told  four  of  the  hands  to  carry  him  to  the 
house,  and,  taking  up  his  gun,  left  the  field. 
When  we  got  to  the  poor  fellow,  he  was  alive,  and 
groaning  faintly.  The  hands  took  him  up,  but 
before  they  reached  the  house  he  was  dead.  Huck- 
step  came  out  and  looked  at  him,  and,  finding  him 
dead,  ordered  the  hands  to  bury  him;  The  burial 
of  a  slave  in  Alabama  is  that  of  a  brute  :  no  coffin, 
no  decent  shroud,  no  prayer.  A  hole  is  dug,  and 
the  body  thrown  in  without  further  ceremony. 

From  this  time  the  overseer  was  regarded  by 
the  whole  gang  with  detestation  and  fear — as  a 
being  to  whose  rage  and  cruelty  there  were  no 
limits.  Yet  he  was  constantly  telling- us  mat  he 
was  the  kindest  of  overseers — that, He  was  for- 
merly somewhat  severe  in  managing  his  hands, 
but  that  now  he  was,  if  any  thing,  too  indulgent. 
Indeed  he  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  good 
overseer  and  an  excellent  manager  when  sober. 
The  slaves  on  some  of  the  neighboring  planta- 
tions were  certainly  worse  clothed  and  fed,  and 
more  frequently  and  cruelly  whipped,  than  ours. 
Whenever  we  saw  them  they  complained  of  over- 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  61 

working  and  short  feeding.  One  of  Flincher's 
and  one  of  Sturtivant's  hands  iran  away  while  I 
was  in  Alabama,  and,  after  remaining  in  the  woods 
awhile,  and  despairing  of  being  able  to  effect  their 
escape,  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  their  existence 
and  their  slavery  together.  Each  twisted  himself 
a  vine  of  the  muscadine  grape,  and  fastened  one 
end  around  the  limb  of  an  oak,  and  made  a  noose 
in  the  other.  Jacob,  Flincher's  man,  swung  him- 
self off  first,  and  expired  after  a  long  struggle. 
The  other,  horrified  by  the  contortions  and  agony 
of  his  comrade,  dropped  his  noose,  and  was  re- 
taken. When  discovered,  two  or  three  days  after- 
wards, the  body  of  Jacob  was  dreadfully  torn  and 
mangled  by  the  obscene  buzzards,  those  winged 
hyenas  and  goules  of  the  Southwest. 

Among  the  slaves  who  were  brought  from  Virgi- 
nia, were  two  young  and  bright  mulatto  women, 
who  were  always  understood  throughout  the  plan- 
tation to  have  been  the  daughters  of  the  elder  Lar- 
rimore,  by  one  of  his  slaves.  One  was  named 
Sarah  and  the  other  Hannah.  Sarah,  being  in  a 
state  of  pregnancy,  failed  of  executing  her  daily 
allotted  task  of  hoeing  cotton.  I  was  ordered  to 
whip  her,  and  on  my  remonstrating  with  the  over- 
6 


NARRATIVE     OF 


.  seer,  and  representing  the  condition  of  the  woman, 

.    *  '■-..  .•••■'■  . 

I  was  told  that  my  business  was  to  obey  orders, 

i  and  that  if  I  was  told  "  to  whip  a  dead  nigger  I 
must  do  it,"  I  accordingly  gave  her  fifty  lashes. 
This  was  on  Thursday  evening".  On  Friday  she 
also  failed  through  weakness, -and  Was  compelled 
to  lie  down  in  the  field.  '  That  night  the  overseer 
himself  whipped  her.  On  Saturday  the  wretched 
woman  '  dragged  herself  once  more  to  the  cotton 
field.  'In  the  burning  sun,-  and  in  a  situation  which 
would  have  called  forth  pity  in  the  bosom  of  any 
one  save  a  cotton-growing  overseer,  she  struggled 
to  finish  her  task.  She  failed — nature  could  do  no 
more—and,  sick  and  despairing,  she  sought  her 
cabin.  There  the  overseer  met  her  and  inflicted 
fifty  more  lashes  upon  her  already  lacerated  back. 
The  next  morning  was  the  Sabbath.  It  brought 
no  joy  to  that  suffering  woman.  Instead  of  the 
tones- of  the  church  bell  summoning  to  the  house  of 
prayer,  she  heard  the  dreadful  sound  of  the  lash 
falling  upon  the  backs  of  her  brethren  and  sisters 
in  bondage.  For  the  voice  of  prayer  she  heard 
curses  ;  for  the  songs  of  Zion  obscene  and  hate- 
ful blasphemies.  No  Bible  was  there  with  its  con- 
solations for  the  sick  of  heart.  Faint  and  fevered, 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  63 

scarred  and  smarting  from  the  effects  of  her  cruel 
punishment,  she  lay  upon  her  pallet  of  moss, 
dreading  the  coming  of  her  relentless  persecutor, 
who,  in  the  madness  of  one  of  his  periodical  fits 
of  drunkenness,  was  now  swearing  and  cursing 
through  the  quarters,— the  demon  of  that  Sabbath- 
less hell. 

Some  of  the  poor  woman's  friends  on  the  evening 
before  had  attempted  to  relieve  her  of  the  task 
which  had  been  assigned  her,  but  exhausted  nature 
and  the  selfishness  induced  by  their  own  miserable 
situation  did  not  permit  them  to  finish  it ;  and  the 
overseer,  on  examination,  found  that  the  week's 
work  of  the  woman  was  still  deficient.  After 
breakfast,  he  ordered  her  to  be  tied  up  to  the  limb 
of  a  tree,  by  means  of  a  rope  fastened  round  her 
wrists,  so  as  to  leave  her  feet  about  six  inches  from 
the  ground.  She  begged  him  to  let  her  down, 
for  she  was  very  sicL 

"  Very  well !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  sneer  and  a 
laugh ;  u  I  shall  bleed  you  then,  and  take  out  some 
of  your  Virginia  blood.  You  are  too  proud  amiss 
for  Alabama." 

He  struck  her  a  few  blows.  Swinging  thus  by 
her  arms,  she  succeeded  in  placing  one  of  her  feet 


64  NARRATIVE    OF  £    f 

I  against  the  body  of  the  tree,  and  thus  partly  sup- 
•  ported  herself,  and  relieved  in  some  degree  the 
'  painful  weight  upon  her  wrists.  He  threw  down 
his  whip,  took  a  rail  from  the  garden  fence,  ordered 
her  feet  to  be  tied  together,  and  thrust  the  rail  be- 
tween them.  He  then  ordered  one  of  the  hands 
to  sit  upon  it.  Her  back  at  this  time  was  bare, 
hut  the  strings  of  the  only  garment  which  she  wore 
passed  over  her  shoulders  and  prevented  the  fall 
force  of  the  whip  from  acting  on  her  flesh.  These 
he  cut  off  with  his  penknife,  and  thus  left  her  en- 
tirely naked.  He  struck  her  only  two  blows,  for 
the  second  one  cut  open  her  side  and  abdomen 
with  a  frightful  gash.  Unable  to  look  on  any  longer 
in  silence,  I  entreated  him  to  stop,  as  I  feared  he 
had  killed  her.  The  overseer  looked  at  the  wound, 
dropped  his  whip,  and  ordered  her  to  be  untied. 
She  was  carried  into  the  house  in  a  state  of  in- 
sensibility, and  died  in  three  days  after. 

During  the  whole  season  of  picking  cotton,  the 
whip  was  frequently  and  severely  plied.  In  his' 
seasons  of  intoxication,  die  overseer  made  no  dis- 
tinction between  the  stout  man  and  the  feeble  and 
delicate  woman — the  sick  and  the  well.  "Women 
in  a  far  advanced  state  of  pregnancy  were  driven 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  ■     65 

out  to  the  cotton  field.  At  other  times  he  seemed 
to  have  some  consideration,  and  to  manifest  some- 
thing- like  humanity.  Our  hands  did  not  suffer  for 
food — they  had  a  good  supply  of  ham  and  corn- 
meal;  while  on  Flincher's  plantation  the  slaves 
had  meat  but  once  a  year,  at  Christmas. 

Near  the  commencement  of  the  weeding  season 
of  1835, 1  was  ordered  to  whip  a  young  woman, 
a.  light  mustee,  for  not  performing  her  task.  I  told 
the  overseer  that  she  was  sick.  He  said  he  did 
not  care  for  that;  she  should  be  made  to  work.  A 
day  or  two  afterwards,  I  found  him  in  the  house 
half  intoxicated.  He  demanded  of  me  why  I  had 
not  i whipped  the  girl ;  and  I  gave  the  same  reason 
as  before.  He  flew  into  a  dreadful  rage,  but  his 
miserable  situation  made  him  an  object  of  contempt 
rather  than  fear.  He  sat  shaking  his  fist  at  me 
and  swearing  for  nearly  half  an  hour.  He  said  he 
would  teach  the  Virginia  lady  to  sham  sickness ; 
and  that  the  only  reason  I  did  not  whip  her  was 
that  she  was  a  white  woman,  and  I  did  not  like  to 
cut  up  her  delicate  skin.  Some  time  after  I  was 
ordered  to  give  two  of  our  women,  named  Hannah 
and  Big  Sarah,  150  lashes  each,  for  not  perform- 
ing their  tasks.  The  overseer  stood  by  until  he 
6* 


66    •  NAEEATIVE    OF 

saw  Hannah  whipped,  and  until  Sarah  had  been 
tied  up  to  the  tree.  As  soon  as  his  back  was  turned 
I  struck  the  tree  instead  of  the  woman,  who,  un- 
derstanding my  object,  shrieked  as  if  the  whip  at 
every  blow  was  cutting  into  her  flesh.  »  The  over- 
seer heard  the  blows  and  the  woman's  cries,  and, 
supposing  that  all  was  going  on  according  to  his 
mind,  left  the  field.  Unfortunately  the  husband 
of  Hannah  stood  looking  on,  and,  indignant  that 
his  wife  should  be  whipped  and  Sarah  spared,  de- 
termined to  revenge  himself  by  informing  against 
me./  I 

'  -Next  morning  Huckstep  demanded  of  me  whe- 
ther I  had  whipped  Sarah  the  day  before ;  I  replied 
in  the  affirmative.  Upon  this  he  called  Sarah  for- 
ward and  made  her  show  her  back,  which  bore  no 
traces  of  recent  whipping.  He  then  turned  upon 
me  and  told  me  that  the  blows  intended  for  Sarah 
should  be  laid  on  my  back.  That  night  the  over- 
seer, with  the  help  of  three  of  the  hands,  tied  me 
up  to  a  large  tree — my  arms  and  legs  being  clasped 
round  it,  and  my  body  drawn  up  hard  against  it  by 
two  men  pulling  at  my  arms,  and  one  pushing 
against  my  back.  The  agony  occasioned  by  this 
alone  was  almost  intolerable.     I  felt  a  sense  of 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  67 

/ 

painful  suffocation,  and  could  scarcely  catch,  my 
breath.': 

-  A  moment  after  I  felt  the  first  blow  of  the  over* 
seer's  whip  across  my  shoulders.  It  seemed  to  cut 
into  my  very  heart.  I  felt  the  blood  gush  and  run 
down  my  back.  I  fainted  at  length  under  the  tor- 
ture, and  od  being  taken  down  my  shoes  were 
filled  with  the  blood  which  ran  from  the  gashes  in 
my  back.  The  skin  was  worn  off  from  my  breast, 
arms,  and  thighs,  against  the  rough  bark  of  the 
tree.  I  was  sick  and  feverish,  and  in  great  pain, 
for  three  weeks  afterwards ;  most  of  which  time  I 
was  obliged  to  lie  with  my  face  downwards,  in 
consequence  of  the  extreme  soreness  of  my  sides 
and  back.  Huckstep  himself  seemed  concerned 
about  me,  and  would  come  frequently  to  see  me, 
and  tell  me  that  he  should  not  have  touched  me 
had  it  not  been  for  "  the  cursed  peach  brandy." 

Almost  the  first  person  that  I  was  compelled  to 
whip,  after  I  recovered,  was  the  man  who  pushed 
at  my  back  when  I  was  tied  up  to  the  tree.  The 
hands  who  were  looking  on  at  that  time  air- thought 
he  pushed  me  much  harder  than  was  necessary ; 
and  they  expected  that  I  would  retaliate  upon  him 
the  injury  I  had  received.     After  he  was  tied  up, 


68  NARRATIVE    OF..  . 

\ 

the  overseer  told  me  to  give  him.  a  severe  flogging, 
and  left  me.  I  struck  the  tree  instead  of  the  man. 
His  3 wife,  who  was  looking  on,  almost  over- 
whelmed me  with  her  gratitude. 
r  At  length  one  morning,  late  in  the  fall  of  1835, 
I  saw  Huckstep  and  a  gentleman  ride  out  to  the 
field.  -As  they  approached^.!  saw  theolatter  was 
my  master.  The  hands  all  ceased  their  labor,  and 
crowded  around  him,  inquiring  about  old  Virginia. 
For  "my  own  part,  I  could  not  hasten  to  greet  him. 
He  had  too  cruelly  deceived  .me; -v.  He.at.  length 
came  towards  me,  and  seemed. somewhat  embar- 
rassed^" Well,  James,"  said  he,  "how  do  you 
stand  it  here  ?  "i  "Badly  enough,";  I  replied.  "  I 
had  no  thought  that  you  could  be  so  cruel  as  to  go 
aWay  and  leave  me  as  you  did."  "  Well,  well,  it 
was  too  bad,  but  it  could  not  be  helped;  you  must 
blame  Huckstep  for  it."  "But,"  said  I,  "I  was 
not  his  servant ;  I  belonged  to  you,  and  you  could 
do  as  you  pleased."  "  Wellr"  said  he,  "  we  will 
talk  about  that  by  and  by."  He  then  inquired  of 
Huckstep  where  Big  Sarah  was.  "She  was  sick 
and  died,"  was  the  answer..  He  looked  round 
among  the  slaves  again,  and.  inquired  for  Harry. 
The  overseer  told  him  'that  Harry  undertook  to 


JA1IES    WILLIAMS.  69 

kill  him,  and  that,  to  save  his  life,  he  was  obliged 
to  fire  upon  him,  and  that  he  died  of  the  wound. 
After  some  further  inquiries,  he  requested  me  to  go 
into  the  house  with  him.  He  then  asked  me  to  tell 
him  how  things  had  been  managed  during  his  ab-~ 
sence.  I  gave  him  a  full  account  of  the  overseer's 
cruelty.  When  he  heard  of  the  manner  of  Harry's 
death,  he  seemed  much  affected  and  shed  tears. 
He  was  a  favorite  servant  of  his  father's.  I  showed 
him  the  deep  scars  on  my  back  occasioned  by  the 
whipping  I  had  received.  He  was,  or  professed  to 
be,  highly  indignant  with  Huckstep  ;  and  said  he 
would  see  to  it  that  he  did  not  lay  hands  on  me 
again.  He  told  me  he  should  be  glad  to  take  me 
with  him  to  Virginia,  but  he  did  not  know  where 
he  should  find  a  driver  who  would  be  so  kind  to 
the  hands  as  I  was.  If  I  would  stay  ten  years,  he 
would  then  give  me  a  thousand  dollars,  and  a  piece 
of  land  to  plant  on  my  own  account.  "  But,"  said 
I,  "  my  wife  and  children."  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  I 
will  do  my  best  to  purchase  them,  and  send  them 
on  to  you."  I  now  saw  that  my  destiny  was  fixed, 
and  that  I  was  to  spend  my  days  in  Alabama,  and 
I  retired  to  my  bed  that  evening  with  a  heavy 
heart. 


70  .     NARRATIVE     OF 

My  master  staid  only  three  or  four  days  on  the 
plantation.  Before  he  left,  he  cautioned  Huckstep 
tcbe  careful  and  not  strike  me  again,,  as  he  would 
on  no  account  permit  it.  He  told  him  to  give  the 
hands  food  enough,  and  not  over-work  them,  and, 
having  thus  satisfied  his  conscience,  left  us  to  our 
fate. 

Out  of  the  two  hundred  and  fourteen  slaves 
who  were  brought  out  from  Virginia,  at  least  one- 
third  of  them  were  members  of  the  Methodist  and 
Baptist  churches  in  that  State.     Of  this  number 
five  or  six  could  read.     They  had  been  torn  away 
from  the  care  and  discipline  of  their  respective 
churches,  and  from  the  means  of  instruction,  but 
they  retained  their  love  for  the  exercises  of  reli- 
gion, and  felt  a  mournful  pleasure  in  speaking  of 
.the  privileges  and  spiritual  blessings  which  they 
enjoyed  in  Old  Virginia.    Three  of  them  had  been 
preachers,  or   exhorters,   viz.    Solomon,  usually 
called  uncle  Solomon,  Richard,  and  David.    Un- 
cle Solomon  was  a  grave,  elderly  man,  mild  and 
forgiving  in  his   temper,  and  greatly  esteemed 
among  the  more   serious  portion  of  our  hands. 
He  used  to  snatch  every  occasion  to  talk  to  the 
lewd  and  vicious  about  the  concerns  of  their  souls, 


JAMES     WILLIAMS.  71 

and  advise  them  to  fix  their  minds  upon  the  Sa- 
vior, as  their  only  helper.  Some  I  have  heard 
curse  and  swear  in  answer,  and  others  would  say- 
that  they  could  not  keep  their  minds  upon  God 
and  the  devil  (meaning  Huckstep)  at  the  same 
time :  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  try  to  be  religious — 
they  had  no  time — that  the  overseer  wouldn't  let 
them  meet  to  pray — and  that  even  uncle  Solomon, 
when  he  prayed,  had  to  keep  one  eye  open  all  the 
time,  to  see  if  Huckstep  was  coming.  •  Uncle 
Solomon  ■  could  both  read  and  write,  and  had 
brought  out  with  him  from  Virginia  a  Bible,  a 
hymn-book,  and  some  other  religious  books,  which 
he  carefully  concealed  from  the  overseer.  Huck- 
step was  himself  an  open  infidel  as  well  as  blas- 
phemer. He  used  to  tell  the  hands  that  there  was 
no  hell  hereafter  for  white  people,  but  that  they 
had  their  punishment  on  earth  in  being  obliged  to 
take  care  of  the  negroes.  As  for  the  blacks,  he 
was  sure  there  was  a  hell  for  them.  He  used 
frequently  to  sit  with  his  bottle  by  his  side,  and 
his  Bible  in  his  hand,  and  read  passages  and  com- 
ment on  them,  and  pronounce  them  lies.  Any 
thing  like  religious  feeling  among  the  slaves  irrita- 
ted him.  He  said  that  so  much  praying  and  sing- 


IL 


72  NAEEATIVE     OF 

ing  prevented  the  people  from  doing  their  tasks, 
as  it  kept  them  up  nights,  when  they  should  be 
asleep.  He  used  to  mock,  and  in  every  possible 
way  interrupt  the  poor  slaves,  who,  after  the  toil 
of  the  day,  knelt  in  their  lowly  cabins'  to  offer  their 
prayers  -and  supplications  to  Him  whose  ear  is 
open  to  the  sorrowful  sighing  of  the  prisoner,  and 
who  hath  promised  in  his  own  time  to  come  down 
and  deliver.  In  his  drunken  seasons  he  would 
make  excursions  at  night  through  the  slave-quar- 
ters, enter  the  cabins,  and  frighten  the  inmates, 
especially  if  engaged  in  prayer  or  psalm-singing. 
On  one  of  these  occasions  he  came  back  rubbing 
his  hands  and  laughing.  /He  said  he  had  found 
uncle  Solomon  in  his  garden,  down  on  his  knees, 
praying  like  an  old  owl,  and  had  tipped  him  over 
and  frightened  him  half  out  of  his  wits.  At  an- 
other time  he  found  uncle  David  sitting  on  his 
stool  with  his  face  thrust  up  the  chimney,  in  order 
that  his  voice  might  not  be  heard  by  his  brutal 
persecutor.  He  was  praying,  giving  utterance  to 
these  words,  probably  in  reference  to  his  bondage : 
— "  How  long,  ok  Lord,  hoio  long  ?  "  "  As  long 
as  my  whip  !  "  cried  the  overseer,  who  had  stolen 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.    •  73 

behind  him,  giving  him  a  blow.     It  was  the  sport 
of  a  demomj 

Not  long  after  my  master  had  left  us,  the  over- 
seer ascertained  for  the  first  time  that  some  of  the 
hands  could  read,  and  that  they  had  brought  books 
with  them  from  Virginia.  He  compelled  them  to 
give  up  the  keys  of  their  chests,  and  on  searching 
found  several  Bibles  and  hymn-books.  Uncle 
Solomon's  chest  contained  quite  a  library,  which 
he  could  read  at  night  by  the  light  of  knots  of  the 
pitch-pine.  These  books  he  coEected  together, 
and  in  the  evening  called  uncle  Solomon  into  the 
house.  /  After  jeering  him  for  some  time,  he  gave 
him  one  of  the  Bibles  and  told  him  to'  name  his 
text  and  preach  him  a  sermon.  The  old  man  was 
silent.  He  then  made  him  get  upon  the  table, 
and  ordered  him  to  pray.  Uncle  Solomon  meek- 
ly replied  that  "  forced  prayer  was  not  good  for 
soul  or  body."  The  overseer  then  knelt  down 
himself,  and  in  a  blasphemous  manner  prayed 
that  the  Lord  would  send  his  spirit  into  uncle 
Solomon,  or  else  let  the  old  man  fall  from  the 
table  and  break  his  neck,  and  so  have  an  end  of 
"nigger"  preaching.  On  getting  up  from  his 
knees  he  went  to  the  cupboard,  poured  out  a  glass 
»      -  7 


74  NARRATIVE     OF 

of  brandy  for  himself,  and  brought  another  to  the 
table.  "  James,"  said  he,  addressing  me,  "  uncle 
Solomon  stands  there,  for  all  the  world,  like  a 
Hickory  Quaker. '  His  spirit  don't  move ;  I  '11  see 
if  another  spirit  won't  move  -it."  He  compelled 
the  old  preacher  to  swallow  the  brandy,  and  then 
told  him  to  preach  and  exhort,  for  the  spirit  was  in 
him.  He  set  one  of  the  Bibles  on  fire,  and  after 
it  was  consumed  mixed  up  the  ashes  of  it  in  a 
glass  of  water,  and  compelled  the  old  man  to  drink 
it,  telling  him  that  as  the  spirit  and  the  word  were 
now  both  in  him,  there  was  no  longer  any  excuse 
for  not  preaching.  After  tormenting  the  wearied 
old  man  "in  this  way  until  nearly  midnight,  he 
permitted  him  to  go  to  his  quarters  J  .     . 

The  next  day  I  saw  uncle  Solomon,  and  talked 
with  him  about  his  treatment.  He  said  it  would 
not  always  be  so — that  slavery  was  to  come  to  an 
end,  fcr  the  Bible  said  so — that  there  would  then 
be  no  more  whippings  and  fightings,  but  the  lion 
and  the  lamb  would  lie  down  together,  and  all 
would  be  love.  He  said  he  prayed  for  Huckstep 
— that  it  was  not  he,  but  the  devil  in  him,  who  be- 
haved so.  At  his  retmest,  I  found  means  to  get 
him  a  Bible  and  a  hymn-book  from  the  overseer's 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  75 

room,  and  the  old  man  ever  afterwards  kept  them . 
concealed  in  the  hen-house. 

The  weeding  season  of  1S36  was  marked  by  re- 
peated acts  of  cruelty  on  the  part  of  Huckstep. 
One  of  the  hands,  Priscilla,  was,  owing  to  her  deli- 
cate situation,  unable  to  perform  her  daily  task. 
He  ordered  her  to  be  tied  up  against  a  tree,  in  the 
same  manner  that  I  had  been.  In  this  situation  - 
she  was  whipped  until  she  was  delivered  of  a  dead 
infant  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  I  Our  men  took  her 
upon  a  sheet  and  carried  her  to  the  house,  where 
she  lay  sick  for  several  months,  but  finally  reco- 
vered. I  have  heard  him  repeatedly  laugh  at  the 
circumstance. 

Not  long  after  this,  we  were  surprised,  one 
morning  about  ten  o'clock,  by  hearing  the  horn 
blown  at  the  house.  Presently  aunt  Polly  came 
screaming  into  the  field.  "  What  is  the  matter, 
Aunty  ?  "  I  inquired.  "  Oh  Lor  !  "  said  she,  "  old 
Huckstep  ;s  pitched  off  his  horse  and  broke  his 
head,  and  is  e'en  about  dead." 

"  Thank  God !  "  said  Little  Simon ;  "  the  devil 
will  have  him  at  last." 

"  God-amighty  be  praised !  "  exclaimed  half  a 
dozen  others.  .  -  .  .  - 

The  hands,  with  one  accord,  dropped  their  hoes, 


76  NARRATIVE     OF 

and  crowded  round  the  old  woman,  asking  ques- 
tions :  "  Is  he  dead  ?  "  "  Will  he  die  ? "  "  Did 
you  feel  of  him — was  he  cold  ?  " 

Aunt  Polly  explained,  as  well  as  she  could,  that 
Huckstep,  i,n  a  state  of  partial  intoxication,  had 
attempted  to  leap  his  horse  over  a  fence,  had  fallen 
and  cut  a  deep  gash  in  his  head,  and  that  he  was 
now  lying  insensible.^/ 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  effect  produced 
by  this  news  among  the  hands.  Menr  women, 
and  children  shouted,  clapped  their  hands,  and 
laughed  aloud.  Some  cursed  the  overseer,  and 
others  thanked  the  Lord  for  taking  him  away. 
Little  Simon  got  down  on  his  knees,  and  called 
loudly  upon  God  to  finish  his  work,  and  never  let 
the  overseer  again  enter  a  cotton  field.  "  Let  him 
die,  Lord,"  said  he,  "  let  him  die ;  he  's  killed 
enough'  of  us.  .Oh,  good  Lord,  let  him  die  and 
not  live." 

"  Peace,  peace  !  it  is  a  bad  spirit,"  said  uncle 
Solomon ;  "  God  himself  willeth  not  the  death  of 
a  sinner."  .    . 

I  followed  the  old  woman  to  the  house,  and 
found  Huckstep  at  the  foot  of  one  of  those  trees,  so 
common  at  the  South,  called  the  Pride  of  China. 
His  lace  Was  black,  and  there  was  a  frightful  con- 


JAMES     WILLIAMS,  77 

tusion  on  the  side  of  his  head.  He  was  carried 
into  the  house,  where,  on  my  bleeding  him,  he 
revived.  He  lay  in  great  pain  for  several  days, 
and  it  was  nearly  three  weeks  before  he  was  able 
to  come  out  to  the  cotton  fields. 

On  returning  to  the  field,  after  Huckstep  had 
revived,  I  found  the  hands  sadly  disappointed  to 
hear  that  he  was  still  living.  Some  of  them  fell 
to  cursing  and  swearing,  and  were  enraged  with 
me  for  trying  to  save  his  life.  Little  Simon  said 
I  was  a  fool ;  if  he  had  bled  him  he  would  have 
done  it  to  some  purpose.  He  would,  at  least,  have 
so  disabled  his  arm  that  he  would  never  again  try 
to  swing  a  whip.  Uncle  Solomon  remonstrated 
with  Simon,  and  told  me  that  I  had  done  right. 

The  neighboring  overseers  used  frequently  to 
visit  Huckstep,  and  he,  in  turn,  visited  them.  I 
was  sometimes  present-  during  their  interviews, 
and  heard  them  tell  each  other  stories  of  horse- 
racing,  negro  huntings,  &c.  Some  time  during 
this  season,  Ludlow,  who  was  overseer  of  a  plan- 
tation about  eight  miles  from  ours,  told  of  a  slave 
of  his,  named  Thornton,  who  had  twice  attempted 
to  escape  with  his  wife  and  one  child.  The  first 
time  he  was  caught  without  much  difficulty,  chain- 
7# 


78  NARRATIVE    OF 

ed  to  the  overseer's  horse,  and  in  that  way  brought 
back.  The  poor  man,  to  save  his  wife  from  a  beat- 
ing, laid  all  the  blame  upon  himself,  and  said  that 
his  wife  had  no  wish  to  escape,  and  tried  to  pre- 
vent him  from  attempting  it.  He  was  severely- 
whipped  ;  but  soon  ran  away  again,  and  was  again 
arrested.  The  overseer,  Ludlow,  said  he  was  de- 
termined to  put  a  stop  to  the  runaway,  and  accord- 
ingly had  resort  to  a  somewhat  unusual  method 
of  punishment. 

There  is  a  great  scarcity  of  good  water  in  that 
section  of  Alabama ;  and  you  will  generally  see  a 
large  cistern  attached  to  the  corners  of  the  houses 
to  catch  water  for  washing,  &c.  /  Underneath  this 
cistern  is  frequently  a  tank  from  eight  to  tetf  feet 
deep,  into  which,  when  the  former  is  full,  the  water 
is  permitted  to  run.  From  this  tank  the  water  is 
pumped  out  for  use.  Into  one  of  these  tanks  the 
unfortunate  slave  was  placed,  and  confined  by  one 
of  his  ankles  to  the  bottom  of  it,  and  the  water  was 
suffered  to  flow  in  from  above.  He  was  compelled 
to  pump  out  the  water  as  fast  as  it  came  m,  by 
means  of  a  long  rod  or  handle  connected  with  the 
pump  above  ground.  He  was  not  allowed  to  be- 
gin until  the  water  had  risen  to  his  middle.   Any 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  79 

pause  or  delay  after  this,  from  weakness  and  ex- 
haustion, would  have  been  fatal,  as  the  water  would 
have  risen  above  his  head.  In  this  horrible  dun- 
geon, toiling  for  his  life,  he  was  kept  for  twenty- 
four  hours  without  any  sustenance.  Even  Huck- 
.  step  said  that  this  was  too  bad ;  that  he  had  him- 
self formerly  punished  runaways  in  that  way,  but 
should  not  do  it  again. 

I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  say  that  this  sufferer  has 
at  last  escaped,  with  his  wife  and  child,  into  a  free 
State.  He  was  assisted  by  some  white  men,  but 
j  I  do  not  know  all  the  particulars  of  his  escape. 
Our  overseer  had  not  been  long  able  to  ride  about 
the  plantation,  after  his  accident,  before  his  life  was 
again  endangered.  He  found  two  of  the  hands,' 
Little  Jarret  and  Simon,  fighting  with  each  other, 
and  attempted  to  chastise  both  of  then>  Jarret  bore 
it  patiently,  but  Simon  turned  upon  him,  seized  a 
stake  or  pin  from  a  cart  near  by,  and  felled  him  to 
the  ground.  The  overseer  got  up,  went  to  the 
house,  and  told  aunt  Polly  that  he  bad  nearly  been 
killed  by  the  "  niggers,"  and  requested  her  to  tie  up 
his  head,  from  which  the  blood  was  streaming. 
As  soon  as  this  was  done,  he  took  down  his  gun, 
and  went  out  in  pursuit  of  Simon,  who  had  fled 
to  his  cabin,  to  get  some  things  which  he  supposed 


80  NAERATIVE     OF 

necessary  previous  to  attempting  his  escape  from 
the  plantation.  He  was  just  stepping  out  of  the 
door  when  he  met  the  enraged  overseer  with  his 
gun  in  his  hand.  Not  a  word  was 'spoken  by 
either.  Huckstep  raised  his  gun  and  fired.  The 
man  fell  without  a  groan  across  the  door-sill.  He 
rose  up  twice  on  his  hands  and  knees,  but  died  in 
a  few  minutes.  He  was  dragged  off  and  Buried. 
The  overseer  told  me  that  there  was  no  other  way 
to  deal  with  such  a  fellow.  It  was  Alabama  law, 
Jfa_slaye  resisted,  to  shoot  him  at  once^,  Hetold. 
me  of  a  case  which  occurred  in  1S34,  on  a  planta- 
tion about  ten  miles  distant,  and  adjoining  that 
where  Crop,  the  negro  hunter,  boarded  with  his 
hounds.  The  overseer  had  bought  some  slaves  at 
Selma,  from  a  drove  or  coffle  passing  through  that 
place.  They  proved  very  refractory.  He  whipped 
three  of  them,  and  undertook  to  whip  a  fourth, 
who  was  from  Maryland.  The  man  raised  his 
hoe  in  a  threatening  manner,  and  the  overseer  fired 
upon  him.  The  slave  fell,  but  instantly  rose  up 
on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  was  beaten  down 
again  by  the  stock  of  the  overseer's  gun.  The 
wounded  wretch  raised  himself  once  more,  drew 
a  knife  from  the  waistband  of  his  pantaloons,  and, 
catching  hold  of  the  overseer's  coat,  raised  himself 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  81 

high  enough  to  inflict  a  fatal  wound  upon  the  lat- 
ter. Both  fell  together,  and  'died  immediately 
after. 

Nothing  more  of  special  importance  occurred 
until  July,  of  last  year,  when  one  of  our  men, 
named  John,  was  whipped  three  times  for  not  per- 
forming his  task.  On  the  last  day  of  the  month, 
after  his  third  whipping,  he  ran  away.  On  the 
following  morning,  I  found  that  he  was  missing  at 
his  row.  The  overseer  said  we  must  hunt  him 
up ;  and  he  blew  the  "  nigger  horn,"  as  it  is  called, 
for  the  dogs.  This  horn  was  only  used  when  we 
went  out  in  pursuit  of  fugitives.  It  is  a  cow's  horn, 
and  makes  a  short,  loud  sound.  We  crossed  Flin- 
cher's  and  Goldsby's  plantations,  as  the  dogs  had 
got  upon  John's  track,  and  went  off  barking  in  that 
direction,  and  the  two  overseers  joined  us  in  the 
chase..  The  dogs  soon  caught  sight  of  the  runa- 
way, and  compelled  him  to  climb  a  tree.  We 
came  up ;  Huckstep  ordered  him  down,  and  se- 
cured him  upon  my  horse  by  tying  him  to  my  back. 
On  reaching  home  he  was  stripped  entirely  naked 
and  lashed  up  to  a  tree.  Flincher  then  volunteered 
to  whip  him  0V1  one  ..side  of  his  legs  and  Goldsby 
on  the  other.    I  had,  in  the  mean  time,  been  order- 


82  NARRATIVE     OF 

ed  to  prepare  a  wash  of  salt  and  pepper,  and  wash 
his  wounds  with  it.  The  poor  fellow  groaned, 
and  his  flesh  shrunk  and  quivered  as  the  burning 
solution  was  applied  to  it.  This  wash,  while'  it 
adds  to  the  immediate  torment  of  the  sufferer,  faci- 
litates the  cure  of  the  wounded  parts.  Huckstep 
then  whipped  him  from  his  neck  down  to  his 
thighs,  making  the  cuts  lengthwise  of  his  back. 
He  was  very  expert  with  the  whip,  and  could 
strike,  at  any  time,  within  an  inch  of  his  mark. 
He  then  gave  the  whip  to  me  and  told  me  to  strike 
directly  across  his  back.  "When  I  had  finished,  the 
miserable  sufferer,  from  his  neck  to  his  heels,  was 
covered  with  blood  and  bruises.  Goldsby  and 
Flincher  now  turned  to  Huckstep,  and  told  him 
that  I  deserved  a  whipping  as  much  as  John  did ; 
that  they  had  known  me  frequently  disobey  his 
orders,  and  that  I  was  partial  to  the  "  Virginia  la- 
dies," and  didn't  whip  them  as  I  did  the  men. 
They  said  if  I  was  a  driver  of  theirs  they  would 
know  what  to  do  with  me.  Huckstep  agreed  -with 
them ;  and  after  directing  me  to  go  to  the  house 
and  prepare  more  of  the  wash  for  John's  back,  he 
called  after  me,  with  an  oath,  to  see  to  it  that  I  had 
some  for  myself,  for  he  meant  to  give  me,  at  least, 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  83 

two  hundred  and  fifty  lashes.  I  returned  to  the 
house,  and,  scarcely  conscious  of  what  I  was  doing, 
filled  an  iron  vessel  with  water,  put  in  the  salt 
and  pepper,  and  placed  it  over  the  embers. 
£_As  I  stood  by  the  fire  watching  the  boiling  of 
the  mixture,  and  reflecting  upon  the  dreadful  tor- 
ture to  which  I  was  about  to  be  subjected,  the 
thought  of  escape  flashed  upon  my  mind.  The 
chance  was  a  desperate  one,  but  I  resolved  to  at- 
tempt it.  I  ran  up  stairs,  tied  my  shirt  in  a  hand- 
kerchief, and  stepped  out  of  the  back  door  of  the 
house,  telling  aunt  Polly  to  take  care  of  the  wash 
at  the  fire  until  I  returned.  The  sun  was  about 
one  hour  high,  but,  luckily  for  me,  the  hands,  as 
well  as  the  three  overseers,  were  on  the  other  side 
of  the  house.  I  kept  the  house  between  them  and 
myself,  and  ran  as  fast  as  I  could  for  the  woods./ 
On  reaching  them  I  found  myself  obliged  to  pro- 
ceed slowly,  as  there  was  a  thick  undergrowth  of 
cane  and  reeds.  Night  came  on ;  I  straggled  for- 
ward by  a  dim  starlight,  amidst  vines  and  reed- 
beds.  About  midnight  the  horizon  began  to  be 
overcast,  and  the  darkness  increased,  until,  in  the 
thick  forest,  I  could  scarcely  see  a  yard  before  me. 
Fearing  that  I  might  lose  my  way  and  wander 


84  NARRATIVE    OF 

towards  the  plantation-,  instead  of  from  it,  I  re- 
solved to  wait  until  day.  I  laid  down  upon  a 
little  hillock  and  fell  asleep. 

When  I  awoke  it  was  broad  day.  The  clouds 
had  vanished,  and  the  hot  sunshine  fell  through 
the  trees  upon  my  face.  I  started  up,  realizing 
my  situation,  and  darted  onward.  My  object  was 
to  reach  the  great  road  by  which  we  had  travelled 
when  we  came  out  from  Virginia.  I  had,  however, 
very  little  hope  of  escape.  I  knew  that  a  hot  pur- 
suit would  be  made  after  me,  and  what  I  most 
dreaded  was  that  the  overseer  would  procure 
Crop's  bloodhounds  to  follow  my  track.  If  only 
the  hounds  of  our  plantation  were  sent  after  me, 
I  had  hopes  of  being  able  to  make  friends  of  them, 
as  they  were  always  good-natured  and  obedient  to 
me.  I  travelled  until,  as  near  as  I  could  judge, 
about  ten  o'clock,. when  a  distant  sound  startled 
me.  I  stopped  and  listened.  It  was  the  deep  bay 
of  the  bloodhound,  apparently  at  a  great  distance. 
I  hurried  on  until  I  came  to  a  creek  about  fifteen 
yards  wide,  skirted  by  an  almost  impenetrable 
growth  of  reeds  and  cane.  Plunging  into  it,  I 
swam  across  and  ran  down  by  the  side  of  it  a 
short  distance,  and,  in  order  to  baffle  the  dogs, 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  85 

swam  back  to  the  other  side  again.  I  stopped  in 
the  reed-bed  and  listened-.  The  dogs  seemed  close 
at  hand,  and  by  the  loud  barking  I  felt  persuaded 
that  Crop's  hounds  were  with  them.  I  thought  of 
the  fate  of  Little  John,  who  had  been  torn  in  pieces 
by  the. hounds,  and  of  the  scarcely  less  dreadful 
condition  of  those  who  had  escaped  th«  dogs  only 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  overseer.  The  yell 
of  the  dogs  grew  louder.  Escape  seemed  impos- 
sible. [__I_ran  down  to  the  creek  with  a  determina- 
tion, to  drown  myself.  I  plunged  into  the  water 
and  went  down  to  the  bottom,  but  :the  dreadful 
strangling  sensation  compelled  me  to  struggle  up- 
to  the  surface.  Again  I  heard'  the-  yell  of  the 
bloodhounds,  and  again  desperately  plunged  down 
into  the  water.  As  I  went  down  I  opened  my 
mouth,  and,  choked  and  gasping,  I found  myself 
once  more  struggling  upward.  As  I  rose  ,to  the 
.  top  of  the  water  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  sun- 
shine and  the  trees,  the  love  of  life  revived  in  me. 
I  swam  to  the  other  side  of  the  creek,  and  forced 
my  way  through  the  reeds  to  a  large  bass-wood 
tree,  and  stood  under  one  of  its  lowest  limbs,  ready, 
in  case  of  necessity,  to  spring  up  into  it.  1  Here, 
panting  and  exhausted,  I  stood  waiting  for  the  dogs*, 
8 


* 


86  NARRATIVE    OF 

The  woods  seemed  full  of  them.  I  heard  a  bell 
tinkle,  and,  a  moment  afte'r,  our  old  hound  Venus 
came  bounding  through  the  cane,  dripping  wet 
from  the  creek.  (As  the  old  hound  came  towards 
me,  I  called  to  her  as  I  used  to  do  when  out  hunt- 
ing with  her.  She  stopped  suddenly,  looked  up  at 
me,  and  then  came  wagging  her  tail  and  fawning 
around  me.  A  moment  after  the  other  dogs  came 
up  hot  in  the  chase,  and  with  their  noses  to  the 
ground.  I  called  to  them,  but  they  did  not  look 
up,  but  came  yelling  on.  I  was  just  about  to  spring 
into  the  tree  to  avoid  them,  when  Venus,  the  old 
hound,  met  them,  and  stopped  them.  They  then 
all  came  fawning  and  playing  and  jumping  about 
me.  The  very  creatures  whom  a  ■moment  before 
I  had  feared  would  tear  me  limb  from  limb,  were 
now  leaping  and  licking  my  hands,  and  rolling  on^ 
the  leaves  around  me.v  I  listened  awhile  in  the 
fear  of  hearing  the  voices  of  men  following  the 
dogs,  but  there  was  no  sound  in  the  forest  save  the 
gurgling  of  the  sluggish  waters  of  the  creek,  and 
the  chirp  of  black  squirrels  in  the  trees.  I  took 
courage  and  started  onward  once  more,  taking  the 
dogs  with  me.  The  bell  on  the  neck  of  foe-  old 
dog  I  feared  might  betray  me,  and,  unable  "to  get: 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  S7 

it  off  her  neck,  I  twisted  some  of  the  long  moss 
of  the  trees  around  it,  so  as  to  prevent  its  ringing. 
At  night  I  halted  once  more  with  the  dogs  by  my 
side.  Harassed  with  fear,  and  tormented  with 
hunger,  I  laid  down  and  tried  to  sleep.  But  the 
dogs  were  uneasy,  and  would  start  up  and  bark  at 
the  cries  or  the  footsteps  of  wild  animals,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  use  my  utmost  exertions  to  keep 
them  quiet,  fearing  that  their  barking  would  draw 
my  pursuers  upon  me.  I  slept  but  little,  and  as 
soon  as  daylight  started  forward  again.  The  next 
day  towards  evening  I  reached  a  great  road,  which, 
I  rejoiced  to  find,  was  the  same  which  my  master 
and  myself  had  travelled  on  our  way  to  Greene 
County.  I  now  thought  it  best  to  get  rid  of  the 
dogs,  and  accordingly  started  them  in  pursuit  of  a 
deer.  They  went  off,  yelling  en  the  track,  and  I 
never  saw.them  again.  I  I  remembered  that  my 
master  told  me,  near  this  place,  that,  we  were  in 
the  Creek  country,  and  that  there  were  some  In- 
dian settlements  not  far  distant.  In  the  course  of 
the  evening  I  crossed  the  road,  and,  striking  into  a 
path  through  the  woods,  soon  came  to  a  number 
of  Indian  cabins.  I  went  into  one  of  them  and 
begged  for  some  food.  The  Indian  women  re- 
ceived me  with  a  great  deal  of  kindness,  and  gave 


88  NARRATIVE    OF 

me  a  good  supper  of  venison,  corn-bread,  and 
stewed  pumpkin.  I  remained  with  them  till  the 
evening  of  the  next  day,  when  I  started  afresh  on 
my  journey.  I  kept  on  the  road  leading  to  Geor- 
gia. In  the  latter  part  of  the  night  I  entered  into 
a  long  low  bottom,  heavily  timbered,  sometimes 
called  Wolf  Valley.  It  was  a  dreary  and  frightful 
place.  As  I  walked  on,  I  heard  on  all  sides  the 
howling  of  the  wolves,  and  the  quick  patter  of  their 
feet  on  the  leaves  and  sticks,  as  they  ran  through 
the  woods.  At  daylight  I  laid  down,  but  had 
scarcely  closed  my  eyes  when  I  was  roused  up  by 
the  wolves  snarling  and  howling  around  me.  I 
started  on  my  feet  and  saw  several  of  them  run- 
ning by  me.  I  did  not  again  close  my  eyes  during 
the  whole  day.  In  the  afternoon,  a  bear  with  her . 
two  cubs  came  to  a  large  chestnut  tree  near  where 
i  lay.  She  crept  up  the  tree,  went  out  on  one  of- 
the  limbs,  and  broke  off  several  twigs  in  trying  to 
shake  down  the  nuts.  They  were  not  ripe  enough 
to  fall,'  and,  after  several  vain -attempts  to  procure 
some  of  them,  she  crawled  down  the  tree  again 
and  went  off  with  her  young. 

The  day  was  long  and  tedious.  As  soon  as  it 
was  dark  I  once  more  resumed  my  journey ;  but 
fatigue  and  the  want  of  food,  and  sleep  rendered 


JAMES    WILLIAilS.  S9 

me  almost  incapable  of  further  effort.  It  was  not 
long  before  I  fell  asleep,  while  walking,  and  wan- 
dered out  of  the  road.  [_I  was  wakened  by  a  bunch 
of  moss  which  hung  down  from  the  limb  of  a  tree 
and  met  my  face.  I  looked  up  and  saw,  as  I 
thought,  a  large  man  standing  just  before  me.  My 
first  idea  was  that  some  one  had  struck  me  over 
the  face,  and  that  I  had  been  at  last  overtaken  by 
Huckstep.  Eubbing  my  eyes  once  more,  I  saw 
the  figure  before  me  sink  down  upon  its  hands 
and  knees ;  another  glance  assured  me  that  it  was 
a  bear,  and  not  a  man.  He  passed  across  the  road 
and  disappeared.  This  adventure  kept  me  awake 
for  the  remainder  of  the  nighty  Towards  morning 
I  passed  by  a  plantation,  on  which  was  a  fine 
growth  of  peach-trees,  full  of  ripe  fruit.  I  took  as 
many  of  them  as-I  coukLconveniently  carry  in1hy 
hands  and  pockets,  and,  retiring  a  little  distance 
into  the  woods,  laid  down  and  slept  till  evening, 
when  I  again  went  forward. 

Sleeping  thus  by  day  and  travelling  by  night, 
in  a  direction  towards  the  North  star,  I  entered 
Georgia.  As  I  only  travelled  in  the  night-time,  I 
was  unable  to  recognise  rivers  and  places  which  I 
had  seen  before,  until  I  reached  Columbus,  where 
I  recoDected  I  had  been  with  my.  master.  From 
S* 


90  NARRATIVE     OF 

this  place  I  took  the  road  leading  to  Washington, 
and  passed  directly  through  that  village.  On 
leaving  the  village,  I  found  myself,  contrary  to  my 
expectation,  in  an  open  country,  with  no  woods  in 
view.  I  walked  on  until  day  broke  in  the  east. 
At  a  considerable  distance  ahead,  I  saw  a  group 
of  trees,  and  hurried  on  towards  it.  Large  and 
beautiful  plantations  were  on  each  side  of  me,  from 
which  I  could  hear  dogs  bark,  and  the  driver's 
horn  sounding.  On  reaching  the  trees,  I  found 
that  they  afforded  but  a  poor  place  of  concealment ; 
on  either  hand,  through  its  openings,  I  could  see 
the  men  turning  out  to  the  cotton  fields.  I  found 
a  place  to  lie  down  between  two  oak  stumps, 
around  which  the  new  shoots  had  sprung  up  thick- 
ly, forming  a  comparatively  close  shelter.  After 
eating  some  peaches,  which  since  leaving  the  In- 
dian settlement  had  constituted  my  sole  food,  I 
fell  asleep.  I  was  waked  by  the  barking  of  a  dog. 
Raising  my  head  and  looking  through  the  bushes, 
I  found  that  the  dog  was  barking  at  a  black  squir-  , 
rel  who  was  chattering  on  a  limb  almost  directly 
above  me.  A  moment  after,  I  heard  a  voice  speak- 
ing to  the  dog,  and  soon  saw  a  man,  wit^fe  gun 
in  his  hand,  stealing  through  the  wood.  He_passed 
close  to  the  stumps,  where  I  lay  trembling  with 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  91 

terror  lest  he  should  discover  me.  He  kept  his 
eye,  however,  upon  the  tree,  and,  raising  his  gun, 
fired.  The  squirrel  dropped  dead  close  by  my 
side.  I  saw  that  any  further  attempt  at  conceal- 
ment would  be  in  vain,  and  sprang  upon  my  feet. 
The  man  started  forward  on  seeing  me,  struck  at 
me  with  his  gun,  and  beat  my  hat  off.  I  leaped 
into  the  road,  and  he  followed  after,  swearing  he 
would  shoot  me  if  I  didn't  stop.  Knowing' that 
his  gun  was  not  loaded,  I  paid  no  attention  to  him, 
but  ran  across  the  road  into  a  cotton  field  where 

■rr 

there  was  a  great  gang  of  slaves  working.     The 

m 

man  with  the  gun  followed,  and  called  to  the  two 
colored  drivers,  who  were  on  horseback,  to  ride 
after  me  and  stop  me.  I  saw  a  large  piece  of 
woodland  at  some  distance  ahead,  and  directed 
my  course  towards  it.  Just  as  I  reached  it,  I 
looked  back  and  saw  my  pursuer  far  behind  me, 
and  found,  to  my  great  joy,  that  the  two  drivers 
had  not  followed  me.  I  got  behind  a  tree,  and 
soon  heard  the  man  enter  the  woods  and  pass  me. 
After  all  had  been  still  for  more  than  an  hour,  I 
crept  into  a  low  place  in  the  depth  of  the  woods, 
and  laid  down  amidst  a  bed  of  reeds,  where  I  again 
fell   asleep.     Towards   evening,  on  awaking,  I 


■  —■      JMl-'i __ ____^_ 


92  NARRATIVE     OF 

found  the  sky  beginning  to  be  cloudy,  and  before 
night  set  in  it  was  completely  overcast.  Having 
lost  my  hat,  I  tied  an  old  handkerchief  over  my 
head,  and  prepared  to  resume  my  journey.  It 
was  foggy  and  very  dark,  and,  involved  as  I  was 
in  the  mazes  of  the  forest,  I  did  not  know  in  what 
direction  I  was  going.  I  wandered  on  until  I 
reached  a  road,  which  I  supposed  to  be  the  same 
one  which  I  had  left.  The  next  day  the  weather 
was  still  dark  and  rainy,  and  continued  so  for 
several  days.  During  this  time  I  slept  only  by 
leaning  against  the  body  of  a  tree,  as  the  ground 
-was  soaked  with  rain.  On  the  fifth  night  after 
my  adventure  near  Washington,  the  clouds  broke 
away,  and  the  clear  moonlight  and  the  stars  shone 
down  upon  me. 

}  I  looked  up  to  see  the  North  star,  which  I  sup- 
posed still  before  me.  C^But  I  sought  it  in  vain  in 
all  that  quarter  of  the  heavens.  A  dreadful 
thought  came  over  me  that  I  had  been  travelling 
out  of  my  way.  I  turned  round  and  saw  the 
North  star,  which  had  been  shining  directly  upon 
my  back.  I  then  knew  that  I  had  been  travelling 
away  from  freedom,  and  towards  the  place  of  my 
captivity,  ever  since  I  left  the  woods  into  which  I 


JA3IES   WILLIAMS.  93 

had  been  pursued  on  the  21st,  five  days  before/ 
Oh,  the  keen  and  bitter  agony  of  that  moment !  I 
sat  down  on  the  decaying  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree, 
and  wept  like  a  child.  Exhausted  in  mind  and 
body,  nature  came  at  last  to  my  relief,  and  I  fell 
asleep  upon  the  log.  When  I  awoke  it  was  still 
dark.  1 1  rose  and  nerved  myself  for  another  effort 
for  freedoms  Taking  the  North  star  for  my  guide, 
I  turned  upon  my  track,  and  left  once  more  the 
dreaded  frontiers  of  Alabama' behind  meU  The 
next  night,  after  crossing  a  considerable  river,  I 
came  to  a  large  road  crossing  the  one  on  which  I 
travelled,  and  which  seemed  to  lead  more  directly 
towards  the  North. ;  I  took  this  road,  and  the  next 
night  after  I  came  to  a  large  village.  -  Passing 
through  the  main  street,  I  saw  a  large  hotel  which 
I  at  once  recollected.  I  was  in  Augusta,  and  this 
was  the  hotel  at  which  my  master  had  spent  seve- 
ral days  when  I  was  with  him  on  one  X)f  his 
southern  visits.  I  heard  the  guards  patrolling  the 
town  cry  the  hour  of  twelve ;  and,  fearful  of  being- 
taken  up,  I  turned  out  of  the  main  street,  and  got 
upon  the  road  leading  to  Petersburg.  On  reach- 
ing the  latter  place,  I  swam  over  the  Savannah 
river  into  South  Carolina,  and  from  thence  passed 
into  North  Carolina. 


94  -NARRATIVE    OP 

Hitherto  I  had  lived  mainly  upon  peaches,  which 
were  plenty  on  almost  all  the  plantations  in  Ala- 
bama and  Georgia ;  but  the  season  was  now  too 
far  advanced  for  them,  and  I  was  obliged  to  resort 
to  apples.  These  I  obtained  without  much  diffi- 
culty until  within  two  or  three  days'  journey  of  the 
Virginia  line.  At  this  time  I  had  had  nothing  to 
eat  but  two  or  three  small  and  sour  apples  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  I  waited  impatiently  for 
night,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  fruit  from  the  or- 
chards along  the  road.  I  passed  by  several  plan- 
tations, but  found  no  apples.  After  midnight,  I 
passed  near  a  large  house,  with  fruit-trees  around 
it.  I  searched  under  and  climbed  up  and  shook 
several  of  them  to  no  purpose.  At  last  I  found  a 
tree  on  which  there  were  a  few  apples.  On  shak- 
ing it,  half  a  dozen  fell. '  I  got  down,  and  went 
groping  and  feeling  about  for  them  m  the  grass, 
but  could  find  only  two ;  the  rest  were  devoured  by 
several  hogs,  who  were  there  on  the  same  errand 
with  myself.  I  pursueHmy  way  until  day  was 
about  breaking,  when  I  passed  another  house. 
The  feeling  of  extreme  hunger  was  here  so  intense, 
that  it  required  all  the  resolution  I  was  master  of 
to  keep  myself  from  going  up  to  the  house  and 
breaking  into  it  in  search  of  food.    But  the  thought 


JAMES  WILLIAMS.  95 

of  being'  again  made  a  slave,  and  of  suffering  the 
horrible  punishment  of  a  runaway,  restrained  me, 
I  lay  in  the  woools  all  that  day  without  food.  The 
next  evening,  I  soon  found  a  large  pile  of  excellent 
apples,  from  which  I  supplied  myself. 

The  next  evening  I  reached  Halifax  Court 
House,  and  I  then  knew  that  1  was  near  Virginia. 
On  the  7th  of  October,  I  came  to  the  Roanoke, 
and  crossed  it  in  the  midst  of  a  violent  storm  of 
rain  and  thunder.  The  current  ran  so  furiously 
that  I  was  carried  down  with  it,  and  with  great 
difficulty,  and  in  a  state  of  complete  exhaustion, 
reached  the  opposite  shore. 

At  about  2  o'clock,  on  the  night  of  the  15th,  I 
approached  Richmond ;  but  not  daring  to  go  into 
the  city  at  that  hour,  on  account  of  the  patrols,  I 
lay  in  the  woods  near  Manchester,  until  the  next 
evening,  when  I  started  in  the  twilight,  in  order  to 
enter  before  the  setting  of  the  watch.  I  passed 
over  the  bridge  unmolested,  although  in  great  fear, 
as  my  tattered  clothes  and  naked  head  were  well 
calculated  to  excite  suspicion  ;  and,  being  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  localities  of  the  city,  made  my 
way  to  the  house  of  a  friend.  I  was  received  with 
the  utmost  kindness,  and  welcomed  as  one  risen 
from  the  dead.    Oh,  how  inexpressibly  sweet  were 


/  ' 


96  NARRATIVE     OF 

the  tones  of  human  sympathy,  after  the  dreadful 
trials  to  which  I  had  been  subjected,  the  wrongs 
and  outrages  which  I  witnessed'  and  suffered ! 
For  between  two  and  three  months  I  had  not 
spoken  with  a  human  being,  and  the  sound  even 
of  my  own  voice  now  seemed  strange  to  my  ears. 
During  this  time,  save  in  two  or  three  instances, 
I  had  tasted  of  no  food  except  peaches  and  apples. 
I  was  supplied  with  some  dried  meat  and  coffee, 
but  the  first  mouthful  occasioned  nausea  and  faint- 
ness,  I  was  compelled  to  take  my  bed,  and  lay 
■sick  for  several  days.  By  the  assiduous  attention 
and  kindness  of  my  friends,  I  was  supplied  with 
every  thing  which  was  necessary  .during  my  sick- 
ness. I  was  detained  in  Richmond  nearly  a  month. 
As  soon  as  I  had  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  able 
to  proceed  on  my  journey,  I  bade  my  kind  host 
and  his  wife  an  affectionate  farewell,  and  set  for- 
ward once  more  towards  a  land  of  freedom.  I 
longed  to  visit  my  wife  and  children  in  Powha- 
tan County,  but  the  dread  of  being  discovered  pre- 
vented me  from  attempting  it.  I  had  learned  from 
my  friends  in  Richmond  that  they  were  living 
and  in  good  health,  but  greatly  distressed  on  my 
account. 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  97 

My  friends  had  provided  me  with  a  fur  cap,  and 
with  as  much  lean  ham,  cake,  and  biscuit  as  I 
could  conveniently  carry.  I  proceeded  in  the  same 
way  as  before,  travelling  by  night  and  lying  close 
and  sleeping  by  day.  About  the  last  of  November 
I  reached  the  Shenandoah  river.  It  was  very  cold ; 
ice  had  already  formed  along  the  margin,  and  in 
swimming  the  river  I  was  chilled  through ;  and 
my  clothes  froze  about  me  soon  after  I  had  reached 
the  opposite  ^ide.  I  passed  into  Maryland,  and 
on  the  5th  of  December  stepped  across  the  line 
which  divided  the  free  state  of  Pennsylvania  from 
the  land  of  slavery. 

I  had  a  few  shillings  in  money,  which,  were  given 
me  at  Richmond,  and  after  travelling  nearly  twen- 
ty-four, hours  from  the  time  I  crossed  the  line,  I 
ventured  to  call  at  a  tavern  and  buy  a  dinner. 
On  reaching  Carlisle,  I  inquired  of  the  ostler  in  a 
stable  if  he  knew  of  any  one  who  wished  to  hire 
a  house-servant  or  coachman.  He  said  he  did 
not.  Some  more  colored  people  came  in,  and, 
taking  me  aside,  told  me  that  they  knew  that  I  was 
from  Virginia,  by  my  pronunciation  of  certain 
words — that  I  was  probably  a  runaway  slave — but 
that  I  need  not  be  alarmed,  as  they  were  friends, 
9 


.y»  .     NARRATIVE   OF 

and  would  do  all  in  their  power  to  protect  me.  I 
was  taken  home  by  one  of  them,  and  treated  with 
the  utmost  kindness  ,'  and  at  night  he  took  me  in 

'  a  wagon,  and  carried  me  some  distance  on  my  way 
to"Harrisburg,  where  he  said  I  should  meet  with 
friends.        .     . 

He  told  me  that  I  had  better  go  directly  to  Phil- 

iadelphia,  as  there  would  be  less  danger  of  my  be- 
ing discovered  and  retaken  there  than  in  the  coun- 
try, and  there  were  a  great  many^persons  there 
who  would  exert  themselves  to  secure  me  from  the 
slave-holders.  In  parting  he  cautioned  me  against 
conversing  or  stopping  with  any  man  on  the  road, 
unless  he  wore  a  plain,  straight  collar  on  a  round 
coat,  and  said  "  thee  "  and  "  thou."    By  following 

ihis  directions  I  arrived  safely  in  Philadelphia, 
having  been  kindly  entertained  and  assisted  on  my 
journey  by  several  benevolent  gentlemen  and  la- 
dies, whose  compassion  for  the  wayworn  and  hunt- 
ed stranger  I  shall  neVer  forget,  and  whose  names 

,  will  always  be  dear  to  me.  On  reaching  Phila- 
delphia; I  was  visited  by  a  large  number  of  the 

rAbolitionists,  and  friends  of  the  colored  people, 

.  who,  after  hearing  my  story,  thought  it  would  not 
be  safe  for  me  to  remain  in  any  part  of  the  United 


JAMES    WILLIAMS.  99 

States.  I  remained  in  Philadelphia  a  few  days, 
and  then  a  gentleman  came  on  to  New  York  with 
me,  I  being  considered  on  board  the  steam-boat, 
and  in  the  cars,  as  his  servant.  I  arrived  at  New 
York  on  the  1st  of  January.  The  sympathy  and 
kindness  which  I  have  every  where  met  with 
since  leaving  the  slave  states,  has  been  the  more 
grateful  to  me  because  it  was  in  a  great  measure 
unexpected.  The  slaves  are  always  told  that  if 
they  escape  into  a  free  state  they  will  be  seized 
and  put  in  prison  until  their  masters  send  for 
them.  I  had  heard  Huckstep  and  the  other  over- 
seers occasionally  speak  of  the  Abolitionists,  but  I 
did  not  know  or  dream  that  they  were  the  friends 
of  the  slave.  Oh,  if  the  miserable  men  and  women, 
now  toiling  on  the  plantations  of-  Alabama,  could 
know  that  thousands  in  the  free  states  are  praying 
and  striving  for  their  deliverance,  how  would  the 
glad  tidings  be  whispered  from  cabin  to  cabin,  and 
how  would  the  slave-mother,  as  she  watches  over 
her  infant,  bless  God,  on  her  knees,  for  the  hope 
that  this  child  of  her  day  of  sorrow  might  never 
realize,  in  stripes,  and  toil,  and  grief  unspeakable, 
what  it  is  to  be  a  slave ! 


100 


The  reader  may  perhaps  feel  a  curiosity  to 
know  something  further  of  James  Williams,  and 
whether  he  has  found  a  place  of  security  from  the 
hunters  of  human  chattels  at  the  South.  He  came 
to  New  York  on  the  1st  of  the  1st  mo.,  1S38. 
He  was  taken  to  the  house  of  a  true  friend  of  the 
oppressed,  where  he  was  received  and  entertained 
.  ,  with  much  sympathy  and  kindness.  While  in 
this  city  he  was  visited  by  a  large  number  of  gen- 
tlemen, who  were  deeply  interested  in  his  narra- 
tive. An  accurate  and  striking  sketch  of  his  face 
was  made  by  an  eminent  artist,  the  engraving  of 
which,  by  Pateick  Reason,  a  colored  young  gen- 
tleman of  this  city,  is  prefixed  to  this  volume. 
He  had,  however,  been  in  his  asylum  but  a  few 
•  days,  when  information  was  received  that  two 
white  men  were  in  pursuit  of  him,  accompanied 
by.  a  colored  man,  who  knew  James,  and  would  be 
able  at  once  to  recognise  him.  The  informant 
stated  that  they  had  been  as  far  as  Boston,  and 


NOTE    BY   THE    EDITOR.  101 

had  just  returned  to  this  city.     After  consultation, 

• 

his  friends  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would 
not  be  safe  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  and 
that,  in  the  present  unsettled  state  of  the  Canadas, 
it  would  be  best  to  send  him  to  England.  He 
accordingly  sailed  for  Liverpool,  with  the  best 
wishes  and  sympathies  of  all  who  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  his  story. 

It  is  with  deep  humiliation  and  sorrow  that  we 
are  thus  compelled  to  proclaim  to  the  world,  that 
even  the  nominally  free  states  of  America  afford 
no  protection  to  the  man  of  color,  escaping  from  a 
land  of  slavery.  Even  the  soil  which  is  yet 
greener  for  the  blood  of  the  revolutionary  sacrifice 
— the  plains  of  Lexington  and  Saratoga — may  not 
be  trodden  in  safety  by  the  scarred  and  toil-worn 
fugitive  from  Southern  Slavery.  Eome  had  her 
temples  where  the  slave  could  flee  and  be  secure, 
for  the  master  dared  not  violate  his  sanctuary. 
But  America  has  no  place  too  sacred  for  the  pro- 
faning presence  of  slavery.  It  pervades  the  whole 
land, — an  active  and  almost  omnipresent  despot- 
ism. The  weary  stranger  may  be  plucked  away 
from  the  domestic  fireside,  or  dragged  from  the 
very  horns  of  the  altars  of  religion.  The  whole 
9* 


102  NOTE   BY   THE    EDITOR. 

constabulary  and  municipal  force  of  the  country, 
the  entire  civil  and  military  authority,  are  pledged, 
by  the  constitution  itself,  to  aid  the  master  in  re- 
covering his  runaway  slaves.  Judges,  sheriffs, 
constables,  and  citizens  of  the  free  states,  are 
bound  by  the  constitutional  law  of  the  land  to 
hunt  men  like  wild  beasts,  for  no  other  crime  than 
that  of  preferring  freedom  to  bondage;  Better 
would  it  be  to  forego,  at  once,  this  mockery  of 
freedom,  and  wear  the  acknowledged  chains  of 
slavery  ourselves,  than  thus  to  stand  ready  at  the 

beck  of  our  masters  to  howl  in  the  track  of  the 

% 
fugitive,  in  concert  with  the  trained  bloodhounds 

of  the  South.  i 


« 


103 


APPENDIX. 

In  our  prefatory  remarks  we  adduced  only  the  testi- 
mony of  inveterate  and  determined  advocates  of  slavery. 
In  corroboration  of  the  facts  stated  by  James  "Williams, 
we  offer  now  the  testimony  of  several  gentlemen,  who 
are  natives  of  the  South,  or  have  been  residents  in  that 
section  of  the  country. 

Discussion  in  Lane  Seiuinajlt,  2d  Mo.,  1834. 

A  member  from  Alabama,  speaking  of  the  cruelties 
practised  upon  the  slaves,  said — '-'At  our  house  it  is  so 
common  to  hear  their  screams  from  a  neighboring  plan- 
tation, that  we  think  nothing  of  it.  The  overseer  of  this 
plantation  told  me  one  day  he  laid  a  young  woman  over 
a  log,  and  beat  her  so  severely  that  she  was  soon  after 
delivered  of  a  dead  child.  A  bricklayer,  a  neighbor  of 
ours,  owned  a  very  smart  young  negro  man,  who  ran 
away,  but  was  caught.  When-  his  master  got  him  home, 
he  stripped  him  naked,  tied  him  up  by  his  hands,  in  plain 
sight  and  hearing  of  the  academy  and  the  public  green, 
so  high  that  his  feet  could  not  touch  the  ground ;  then 
tied  them  together,  and  put  a  long  board  between  his 
legs  to  keep  him  steady.  After  preparing  him  in  this 
way,  he  took  a  paddle,  bored  it  full  of  holes,  and  com- 
menced beating  him  with  it.  He  continued  it  leisure- 
ly all  day.  At  night  his  flesh  was  literally  pounded  to 
a  jelly.  It  was  two  weeks  before  he  was  able  to  walk. 
No  one  took  any  notice  of  it ;  no  one  thought  any  wrong 
was  done." 


■ 


104  appendix:. 


TESTIMONY   OF    JOHN   RANKIN, 

A  native  of  Tennessee,  educated  there,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  a  preacher  in  slave  states — now  pastor  of  >a  church 
in  Ripley,  Ohio. 

u  In  some  parts  of  Alabama,  you  may  see  slaves  in  the 
cotton  fields  without  so  much  as  even  a  single  rag  upon 
them,  shivering  before  the  chilling  blasts  of  mid-winter. 
Indeed,  in  every  slave-holding  State  many  slaves  suffer 
extremely,  both  while  they  labor  and  while  they  sleep, 
for  rvant  of  clothing  to  keep  them  warm.  '  Often  they  are 
driven  through  frost  and  snow  without  either  stocking  or 
shoe,  until  the  path  they  tread  is  dyed  with  the  blood  that 
issues  from  their  frost-worn  limbs  !  And  when  they  re- 
turn to  their  miserable  huts  at  night,  they  find  not  there 
the  means  of  comfortable  rest ;  but  on  the  cold  ground 
they  must  He  without  covering,  and  shiver  while  they  slumber. 

"  In  connection  with  their  extreme  sufferings,  occa- 
sioned by  want  of  clothing,  I  shall  notice  those  which 
arise  from  the  want  of  food.  As  the  making  of  grain  is 
the  main  object  of  their  mancipation,  masters  will  sacri-, 
fice  as  little  as  possible  in  giving  them  food.  It  often 
happens  that  what  will  barely  keep  them  alive  is  all  that 
a  cruel  avarice  will  allow  them.  Hence,  in' some  in- 
stances, their  allowance  has  been  reduced  to  a  single 
pint  of  corn  each  during  the  day  and  night ;  and  some 
have  no  better  allowance  than  a  small  portion  of  cotton 
seed  !  !  And  in  some  places  the  best  allowance  is  a  peck 
of  corn  each  during  the  week,  while  perhaps  they  are  not 
permitted  to  taste-meat  so  mueh  as  once  in  the  course 
of  seven  years,  except  what  little  they  may  be  able  to 
steal !  Thousands  of  them  are  pressed  with  the  gnawings 
of  cruel  hunger  during  their  whole  lives. 

"  Many  poor  slaves  are  stripped  naked,  stretched  and 
tied  across  barrels  or  large  bags,  and  tortured  with  thi 
lash  during  hours,  and  even  whole  days,  until  their  flesh  is 
mangled  to  the  very  bones.  Others  are  stripped  and  hung 
up  by  the  arms,  their  feet  are  tied  together,  and  the  end 
of  a  heavy  piece  of  timber  is  put  between  their  legs  in 
order  to  stretch  their  bodies,  and  so  prepare  them  for  the 
torturing  lash — and  in  .this  situation  they  are  often 
whipped  until  their  bodies  are  covered  with  blood  and 
mangled  flesh,  and  in  order  to  add  the  greatest  kee&uess. 


APPENDIX.  105, 

to  their  sufferings,  their  wounds  are  washed  with  liquid 
salt  I  And  some  of  the  miserable  creatures  are  permit- 
ted  to  hang  in  that  position  until  they  actually  expire  ; 
some  die  under  the  lash,  others  linger  about  for  a  time, 
and  at  length  die  of  their  wounds,  and  many  survive, 
and  endure  again  similar  torture.  These  bloody  scenes 
are  constantly  exhibiting  in  every  slave-holding  country- 
thousands  of  whips  are  every  day  stained  in  African  blood ! 
Even  the  yoor  females  are  not  permitted  to  escape  these 
shocking  cruelties." — Rankin's  Letters,  pages  51,  53. 

t:estmo:st  of  asa  a.  stone, 

A  Theological  Student,  who  resided  near  Natchez,  Missis- 
sippi, when  he  published  the  following  statement,  dated 
2ith  5th  mo;,  1835. 

"  No  one  here  thinks  that  the  slaves  are  seldom  over- 
driven and  under-fed.  Every  body  knows  it  to  be  one 
of  the  most  common  occurrences.  No  planter  of  intelligence 
and  candor  denies  that  slaves  are  very  generally  badly 
treated  in  this  country.  I  wish  to  be  understood  now  at 
the  commencement,  that,  intending  as  I  do  that  my  state- 
ments shall  be  relied  on,  and  knowing  that,  should  you  set 
fit  to  publish  this  communication,  they  will  come  to  this  coun- 
try, where  their  correctness  may  be  tested  by  comparison  with 
real  life,  I  make  them  with  the  utmost  care  and  precaution. 
But  those  which  I  do  make  are  made  without  the  least 
apprehension  of  their  being  controverted.  ...  In  the 
first  place,  with  respect  to  labor.  The  time  of  labor  is 
first  to  be  noticed.  It  is  a  general  rule  on  all  regular 
plantations  that  the  slaves  rise  in-season  in  the  morning 
to  be  in  the  field  as  soon  as  it  is  light  enough  for  them  to  see 
to  work,  and  remain  there  until  it  is  so  dark  that  they  can- 
not see.  This  is  the  case  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  ;  so 
that  during  the  summer  they  are  in  the  field  at  least 
fifteen  Jwurs.  This  does  not  include  the  time  spent  in 
going  and  returning  ;  that  must  be  done  while  it  is  too 
dark  to  suffer  them  to  work,  even  if  the  field,  as  js  fre- 
quently the  case,  is  a  mile  distant.  It  is  literally  true, 
what  one  of  them  remarked  to  me  the  other  day,  that 
u  they  never  know  what  it  is  to  sleep  till  daylight." 
....  Their  suppers  they  have  to  prepare  and  eat  after 
they  return  home,  which,  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
takes  them  until  nine  o'clock :  so  that,  without  leaving  a 


106  APPENDIX. 

moment  of  time  for  any  other  purpose,  they  can  have  but 
seven  hours'  sleep  before  four  in  the  morning,  when  they 

are  called On  almost  every  plantation,  the  hands 

suffer  more  or  less  from  hunger  at  some  seasons  of  al- 
most every  year.  On  the" majority  of  plantations,  the 
feeding  supplies  the  demands  of  nature  tolerably  well, 
except  in  the  winter,  and  at  some  other  occasional  times. 
There  is  always  a  good  deal  of  suffering  on  them  from 
hunger  in  the  course  of  the  year.  On  many  plantations, 
and  particularly  in  Louisiana  and  among  the  French 
planters,  the  slaves  are  in  a  condition  of  almost  utter 
famishment  during  a  great  portion  of  the  year.  Let  a 
man  pass  through  the  plantations  where  they  fare  the 
best,  and  see  fifty  or  sixty  hands,  men  and  women,  sit- 
ting down  on  the  furrows  where  their  food-cart  happens 
to  overtake  them,  and  making  their  meal  of  a  bit  of  corn- 
bread  and  water,  and  he  will  think  it  is  rather  hard  fare. 
This  is  not  un frequently  the  case  on  plantations  where 
they  are  considered  welLfed 

"  I  will  now  say  a  few  words  about  treatment  and 
condition  in  general.  That  floggings  are  very  common 
and  severe,  appears  from  what  has  already  been  said. 
I  must  now  say  that  flogging  for  all  offences/ including 
deficiencies  in  work,  are  frightfully  common,  and  most 
terribly  severe. 

"Rubbing  with  salt  and  red  pepper  is  very  common  after 
a  severe  whipping.  The  object,  they  say,  is  primarily  to 
make  it  smart ;  but  add,  that  it  is  the  best  thing  that  can 
be  done  to  prevent  mortification  and  make  the  gashes 
heal." 

TESTLHONY    OF    THE    PRESBYTERIAN    SYNOD    OF    KENTUCKY, 

A  large  majority  of  whom  are  or  have  been  slave-holders. 

u  This  system  licenses  and  produces  great  cruelty.. 

"Mangling,  imprisonment,  starvation,  every  species 
of  torture,  may  be  inflicted  upon  him,  (the  slave,)  and 
he  has  no  redress. 

"  There  are  now  in  our  whole  land  two  millions  of 
human  beings,  exposed,  defenceless,  to  every  insult,  and 
every  injury,  short  of  maiming  or  death,  which  their 
fellow-men  may  choose  to  inflict.  They  suffer  all  that 
can  be  inflicted  by  wanton  caprice,  by  grasping  avarice, 
by  brutal  lust,  by  malignant  spite,  and  by  insane  anger. 
Their  happiness  is  the  sport  of  every  whim  and  the  prey 


APPENDIX.  107 

of  every  passion  that  may  occasionally  or  habitually 
infest  the  master's  bosom.  If  we  could  calculate  the 
amount  of  wo  endured  by  the  ill-treated  slaves,  it  would 
overwhelm  every  compassionate  heart — it  would  move 
even  the  obdurate  to  sympathy.  There  is  also  a  vast 
sum,  of  suffering  inflicted  upon  the  slave  by  humane 
masters,  as  a  punishment  for  that  idleness  and  miscon- 
duct which  slavery  naturally  produces.  *  *  * 
"Brutal  stripes,  and  all  the  varied  kinds  of  personal 
indignities,  are  not  the  only  species  of  cruelty  which 
slavery  licenses.  #  #  #  Brothers  and  sisters, 
parents  and  children,  husbands  and  wives,  are  torn 
asunder,  and  permitted  to  see  each  other  no  more. 
These  acts  are  daily  occurring  in  the  midst  of  us.  The 
shrieks  and  the  agony  often  witnessed  on  such  occa- 
sions proclaim  with  a  trumpet  tongue  the  iniquity  and 
cruelty  of  our  system.  #  *  *  There  is  not  a 
neighborhood  where  these  heart-rending  scenes  are  not 
displayed.  There  is  not  a  village  or  road  that  does  hot 
behold  the  sad  procession  of  manacled  outcasts,  whose 
chains  and  mournful  countenances  tell  that  they  are 
exiled  by  force  from  all  that  their  hearts  hold  dear." — 
See  Address  of  Synod  to  Churches,  in  1835,  page  12. 

Testimony  of  the  Makyvule  (Tennessee)  Intelli- 
gencer, of  the  4th  of  10th  mo.,  1835. 

The  Editor,  in  speaking  of  the  sufferings  of  the  slaves 
which  are  taken  by  the  internal  trade  to  the  Southwest, 
says  : 

"Place  yourself  in  imagination,  for  a  moment,  in 
their  condition  :  with  heavy  galling  chains  riveted  upon 
your  person  ;  half-naked,  half-starved ;  your  back  lace- 
rated with  the  '  knotted  whip ;'  travelling  to  a  region 
where  your  condition  through  time  mill  be  second  only  to 
the  wretched  creatures  in  Hell. 

"  This  depiction  is  not  visionary.  "Would  to  God  that 
it  was.'-' 

TESTIMONY    OF    COLONEL    WILLIAM   KEYS, 

A  native  of  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  where  he  resided 
about  thirty  years — now  well  known  did  greatly  respected 
in  southern  Ohio. 

"  In  that  part  of  Virginia  where  I  resided,  (the  val- 
ley.) so  far  as  relates  to  food,  clothing,  and  labor,  slaves 


10S  APPENDIX. 

may  be  said  to  be  well  used,  when  compared  with  the 
barbarity  of  their  treatment*  farther  south,  or  wherever 
they  are  held  in  large  numbers  \  yet,  even  where  I  lived, 
though  few  slaves  comparatively  were  held,  many  acts 
of  atrocious  cruelty  Were  perpetrated.  I  have  seen  aged, 
gray-headed  slaves  stripped,  tied  up,  and  whipped  with  a 
cowhide,  forty  or  fifty  lashes,  for  no  fault  bat  absence  for 
a  few  minutes  too  long  when  wanted.  Such  things  I  call 
cruelty,  but  they  pass  among  slave-holders  for  nothing." 
Dated  Hillsborough,  Ohio,  1st  of  1st  mo.,  1835. 


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Bridgeport  National 
Bindery,  Inc. 

FEB.  2000 


